


JNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION 

BULLETIN, 1914. NO. 30 WHOLE NUMBER 604 



CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 



AND 



TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS 
AT PUBLIC EXPENSE 



By A. C. MONAHAN 

BUREAU OF EDUCATION 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

IV.4 




Class 
Book 



13 3.2JL 



3 



3-7 f 



UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION 

BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 - • WHOLE NUMBER 604 



CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 

AND 

TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS 
AT PUBLIC EXPENSE 



By A: C. MONAHAN /^ 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 




Ponograph 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1914 



7*" 






^ 



ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON,!). C. 

AT 

25 CENTri PEK COPY 



a of o. 

JAN 7 1915 






'X 



CONTENTS 



I. History and extent of the movement *> 

Introduction , 

The first consolidation ' 

The Montague consolidated school 

The Concord consolidated school 9 

Other consolidation in Massachusetts H- 

Consolidation in Ohio 13 

Consolidation in Indiana lo 

Consolidation in other States 14 

Status of consolidation in various States 16 

II. State legislation concerning consolidation and transportation 26 

(A) Requirement of law and of the North Dakota State Board 

of Education for classification on consolidated schools___ 28 

(B) Wisconsin special State aid to assist in erecting and equip- 

ping consolidated-schools buildings 2D 

(C) Wisconsin special aid to assist in providing transportation 

to consolidated schools ° a 

(D) Laws relating to consolidation of rural schools in Minnesota 

(the Holmberg Act), 1911 31 

(E) Summary of State laws on consolidation 34 

III. Transportation arrangements and cost 4o 

(A) The details or arrangements for transportation 45 

(B) Cost of public transportation 50 

.(C) Contract with driver 53 

IY. Cost of the consolidated school ['■_' 

Cost of small schools in Tennessee and North Carolina 55 

Comparative cost of tuition in. Iowa * r>5 

' Cost of consolidated schools in'Ilrrnois 50 

Cost of consolidated schools in Indiana 57 

V. Educational advantages of consolidation » s 

(A) Rural supervision 60 

(B) Classification of pupils 61 

(C) Division of time between study and recitation 61 

(D) Vitalizing the school work <*» 

(E) High-school courses 64 

(F) Socializing influences of the consolidated school 65 



(G) A permanent teaching force- 
(H) Summary. 



6S 

VI. Some types of consolidated schools investigated and reported by 

collaborators of the bureau ™ 

(A) The Mays Lick consolidated school, Mason County, Ky 70 

(B) The Comstock (Mich.) consolidated school 78 

(C) The Port Wing consolidated school, Port Wing, Wis 80 

(D) The Wool Market consolidated school, Harrison County. 

Miss 8 - 

(E) Garfield consolidated school, State of Washington 84 

(F) Moro consolidated school, Arkansas ST 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Page. 

VII. Maedonald consolidated-school movement in Canada 89 

The school .-it Middleton, Nova Scotia _. 90 

The New Brunswick school 92 

The school at Guelph, Ontario <J4 

The school on Prince Edward Island 95 

VIII. Agriculture and domestic science in the Harlem (111.) consolidated 

school !>7 

Bibliography of consolidation of schools 101 

Index 105 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 
Plate 1. A consolidated school in Indiana Frontispiece. 

2. A, Garfield consolidated school; B, Alhambra consolidated dis- 

trict, near Phoenix, Ariz ' !•'> 

3. A, Green Meadow School, Ada County, Idaho; B, Utah County. 

Utah 36 

4. .1, Caledonia consolidated school, North Dakota; B, consolida- 

tion in North Dakota Hi 

5. The Montague (Mass.) high and consolidated schools 32 

fi. .4, The Cedron (La.) schoolhouse; B. Medford consolidate! 

school '->'2 

7. A, A mountain consolidated school of two rooms; B, A South 

Carolina union school 32 

8. A, Transportation wagon, Shelby County. Tenn : B, Winter 

transportation at Kirksville," Mo 4S 

!J. .4. Transportation wagous, White River Township consolidate;! 
schools; i?. Automobiles used to transport pupils at the Braw- 
ley School. Imperial County, Cal 48 

10. Various types of transportation 43 

11. A, Interior farm mechanics' building. Snohomish consolidated 

school, Washington ; B, School garden, poultry house, and farm 
mechanics' building, Snohomish school, Washington 04 

12. A, Agricultural buildings and flower bed. Snohomish consoli- 

dated school, Washington; B, Class in cooking, Snohomish 
school, Washington 64 

13. A, Plowing contest; B, Testing milk from neighboring farms, 

Harlem consolidated school, Rockford, 111 64 

44. Socializing activities made possible by consolidation 61 

15. A, Port Wing consolidated school, Wisconsin; B, More consoli- 
dated school, Arkansas s<l 

10. A consolidated school at Mays Lick, Ky 80 

17. The Maedonald consolidated school, Kingston. New Brunswick- SO 



CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTATION OF 
PUPILS AT PUBLIC EXPENSE. 



I. HISTORY AND EXTENT OE THE MOVEMENT. 

Introduction. — " Consolidation of schools " is the term used when 
two or more school districts are made into a single district, one school 
in one building replacing two or more, small schools in several build- 
ings. In some States when but two schools are replaced by one, the 
new school is called a " union " school, the term " consolidated " being 
applied only when three or more schools are replaced by a single 
school. In other sections the term "consolidation" is used only in 
speaking of a school to which children are transported at public ex- 
pense. When a single school is abandoned on account of the lack of 
sufficient pupils to keep it open, and the children attend school in a 
neighboring district, the term " consolidation " would seldom be ap- 
plied. Consolidation in its best form takes place when schools not 
forced to close for lack of pupils are deliberately abandoned for the 
purpose of creating a larger school where more efficient work may be 
done, or equivalent work at less expense. 

Ohio uses the term "centralization" instead of "consolidation," 
a centralized school being one located where it may be most con- 
venient for the children of an entire township. Sometimes the 
" centralized " school is located in the village nearest the center ; 
sometimes it is located in the open country. Some of the Ohio 
centralized schools are housed in two or more buildings; the usual 
number, however, is but one. Many Western States have schools 
which to all intents and purposes are consolidated or centralized 
schools, although they do not replace older one-teacher schools. They 
are the original schools built to serve large territories and existing 
from their first establishment as two or more teacher schools. 

The two primary motives in the movement for consolidation have 
been and still are (1) for the purpose of securing better educational 
facilities, and (2) for the purpose of decreasing the cost of educa- 
tion on the school district. Considerable space is given to the dis- 
cussion of both of these subjects later in this bulletin. 

5 



6 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The movement for consolidation has assumed several different 
forms. One is illustrated by the " union schools" in North Carolina. 
In this State in the past 12 years more than 1,200 small district one- 
teacher schools have been replaced by less than half that number of 
two and three teacher schools, all located within walking distance 
of the pupils' homes. If districts so formed do not contain more 
than 10 or 12 square miles of territory, and the schools are centrally 
located relative to the population, no child will have an excessive 
distance to walk. In a square district 3.5 miles on a side, or 12£ 
square miles in area, the greatest distance from any part of the 
district to a school located at the geometrical center is approximately 
2.5 miles, and four-fifths of the territory of the district is within If 
miles of the center. This movement in North Carolina is therefore 
one of probable wisdom. The greatest gain in efficiency in consolida- 
tion comes in the making of two-teacher schools to replace those with 
one teacher. The two-teacher school may be as efficient in its elemen- 
tary work as a larger one; of course it can not give the social ad- 
vantages and the opportunity for high-school departments that can 
be given in larger schools. 

In discussing this type of consolidated school the Commissioner of 
Education, in his introductory chapter for the 1913 report, says: 

I suggest that the rural schools be consolidated as much as can be done with- 
out too much inconvenience for children or too great a cost for transporta- 
tion. In a carefully laid-out school district of 10 or 12 square miles, with a 
sehoolhouse at or near the center, few children have to travel more than a mile 
and a half to or from school. Except in the worst winter weather this is not 
too far even for small children to walk. There is now little or no reason why 
the country school for young children should be in session when the weather 
is worst and not in session when the weather is good; and walking through 
country lanes, across fields, or along forest paths is pleasant and health 
giving. In most couuties in the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Middle 
Western States, and in many of the more densely populated couuties of the 
Pacific States, there is now a school for every five or six square miles, and in 
many counties a school for every three or four square miles. The number of 
schools is larger where the population is more dense and smaller when it is less 
dense. In many counties one- room one-teacher schools are scattered along the 
liiads and across the country little more than a mile apart. By making a 
school district of 10 or 12 square miles (12 square miles means only 31 miles 
square), two, three, or four schools, and sometimes as many as five schools, 
each with one or two teachers at the most, could be brought together into one. 

This consolidation would give to each school a larger number of teacbers 
and make it possible to organize the school with principal, special teachers for 
different subjects, fewer daily lesson periods for each teacher, a better school 
spirit among both pupils and teacbers, more variety in studies, and many other 
advantages. 

Another form of the movement is illustrated by the " partial con- 
solidation," resulting from limiting the number of grades in one- 
teacher schools to four, five, or six, and providing a central school 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OE THE MOVEMENT. i 

for children who have completed these grades. In Louisiana, for 
example, 11 parishes (counties) have by action of the parish boards 
of education limited the number of grades in one-teacher schools 
usually to five. Children completing the work of the fifth grade 
are given opportunity for further education in centralized schools 
to which they are transported at public expense or paid a small 
amount in lieu of transportation. As another example Franklin 
County, Ky., might be cited. The county is divided into four edu- 
cational divisions, each with a division board of education and each 
containing from four to nine school subdistricts. In each division 
there has been established a central school for all children in the 
division in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. After com- 
pleting the tenth grade the children desiring to receive a full high- 
school education go to the county high school for the work of the 
eleventh and twelfth grades. 

Southington Township, Conn., has a total population of 6,516 
persons and an area of approximately 36 square miles. There were 
1,546 children of school age, 1,113 of whom were enrolled in school in 
1911-12. In the 11 school buildings in the township. 11 teachers 
were employed, 7 of whom were in one-teacher schools and 1 in two- 
teacher schools. The small schools in outlying districts do the work 
of the first five grades only. Children from these schools take their 
sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade work in the central schools. 
They attend also a central high school. Transportation expenses are 
allowed, 5 cents per day to those living on the trolley line and 10 
cents per day to the others. This is about one-half the cost of trans- 
portation. 

The -first consolidation. — When consolidation, as the word is gener- 
ally understood, began in the United States is difficult to say. Probably 
in the older States from very early times schools had been abandoned 
for the sake of economy and the children sent to neighboring schools. 
In Massachusetts enough such instances had occurred previous to 
1869 so that a question came before the legislature in that year as to 
whether or not children from an abandoned school district might be 
transported to another district at public expense. The legislature 
acted favorably, and school trustees were authorized to pay for the 
transportation of children to a neighboring district out of the school 
funds. The law reads as follows : 

Any town in the Commonwealth may raise by taxation or otherwise and 
appropriate money to he expended by the school committee in their discretion in 
providing for the conveyance of pupils to and from the public schools. 

Hon. Joseph White, formerly secretary of the State board of 
education, stated that the act was introduced into the legislature 
through the efforts of a practical man from one of the rural town- 
ships of large territory and sparse population, where the constant 



8 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

problem is how to bring equal school privileges to all without undue 
taxation. The first children carried to school at public expense un- 
der the provisions of this act were in the town of Quincy, in the 
eastern part of the State. There, in 187-1, a school with less than a 
dozen children was closed and the pupils carried to another one- 
teacher school, the union making a school not too large for one 
teacher. The district abandoning its school paid tuition and trans- 
portation expenses and found the outlay less than the amount which 
would have been required to maintain the old school. No special 
educational advantages came to the pupils transported, except from 
the association with a greater number of children. 

The Montague consolidated school. — The first consolidation for the 
definite purpose of securing for the children better educational op- 
portunities appears to have occurred in Montague. Mass. There, 
in 1875, as a result of a campaign conducted principally by one of 
the school committee, Mr. Seymour Rockwell, three " district " schools 
were abandoned and a new brick building erected at a central loca- 
tion, to which the children from the abandoned districts were trans- 
ported at public expense. This school is still in a flourishing condi- 
tion. It serves a territory of approximately 20 square miles. A 
high-school department was added very soon after the school Avas 
established and graduated its first four-year class in 1884. 

Seymour Rockwell, in 1803, wrote as follows regarding the Mon- 
tague consolidated school : 

For 18 years we have had the best attendance from the transported children; 
no more sickness anions them, and no accidents. The children like the plan 
exceedingly . We have saved the town at least $600 a year. All these children 
now attend a well-equipped schoolhonse at the center. The schools are graded: 
everybody is converted to the plan. We encountered all the opposition found 
anywhere, but we asserted our sensible and legal rights and accomplished the 
work. I see no way of bringing the country schools up but to consolidate 
them, making them worth seeing: then the people will be more likely to do 
their duty by visiting them. 

With its largest attendance the school enrolled about 175 pupils, 
more than one-fourth of whom were in high-school grades. Pupils 
came to the high school from neighboring districts, which were able 
to take care of elementary pupils locally, but wanted the special 
high-school opportunities. The children were transported in six 
school wagons, and later in five wagons and one trolley car. 

The total number of children transported in 1012-13 was 85, at 
a total expenditure of $1,550.82, or 10 cents per pupil per day. 
Each driver received an average of $1.70 per day, or $312 per year, 
and carried an average of 17 children. The shortest route is 2 miles, 
the longest 4.5 miles. The drivers furnish their own wagons and 
teams. The wagons must be inclosed in stormy weather and equipped 
with straw or rugs under foot and with robes. The drivers are under 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 9 

contract with the school authorities and must cover the routes on 
schedule time. They have full authority over the children while 
on the road and enforce good conduct. The wagons do not stop at 
all the houses where pupils live, but follow routes laid out by the 
school authorities, picking up the children along these routes. 

From the beginning the history of this consolidated school is one 
of satisfaction. The building was made modern in every respect. 
It was heated by hot air and properly ventilated and lighted. It 
had indoor toilets and running water from a neighboring hillside, 
spring. The majority of its high-school teachers have been college 
graduates; its elementary teachers normal graduates. The high- 
school department was among the first country high schools in the 
State to be put upon the accredited list by the Xew England college 
entrance board. 

The 39 years of its existence has given ample opportunity to com- 
pare the value of the consolidated school with the one-teacher 
school and to work out. satisfactorily many of the problems in con- 
nection with public transportation. The high-school department 
has afforded an opportunity for a constant comparison of the work 
of pupils whose elementary schooling was received in the consoli- 
dated school and those whose elementary schooling was received in 
surrounding one-teacher schools. The comparison brings out much 
evidence in favor of the consolidated school work as the more effi- 
cient. Also there has been afforded an opportunity to study the 
advantages and disadvantages of transportation in school wagons 
under school authority and in public electric cars. The experience 
has resulted in a sentiment in favor of the school wagons. Little 
disorderly conduct or improper speech ever occurred on the wagons, 
while both occurred more or less frequently on the cars. The wagon 
drivers, because the} 7 were engaged by the school board, were recog- 
nized by the children as in authority: the carmen were not so 
recognized. 

The Concord consolidated school. — The second consolidated school 
in the United States was probably one established in Concord, Mass. 
A central building was erected in 1879, replacing several one-teacher 
schools. Concord at that time, with the township, included about 
4,000 inhabitants. The area was about 25 square miles. For school- 
administration purposes it was divided into two village districts 
and five rural districts. Prior to 1879 the common schools were 12 
in number, occupying 11 houses. Five of these schools were in the 
central village; two, in the same building, were at West Concord; 
the remaining five were in the outlying farming districts. The 
district schoolhouses were at distances of from 1-|- to 3 miles from the 
center. At the center was a high school to which pupils came from 
all parts of the township. The new building was called the Emerson 



10 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

School and contained eight rooms. When first opened it replaced the 
five schools of the central village. The following account of the 
absorption of the district schools by the Emerson School is given by 
W. L. Eaton, formerly superintendent of schools of Concord, Mass. 1 

In 1879 the school in district 7 was closed and the children conveyed to the 
center, because the committee "did not feel justified in keeping the school open 
for the small number of pupils attending it." About the same time the grammar- 
school pupils in district 2 were directed to attend the center school and " to 
make their own way thither." In 1SS1 Supt. Tileston reports that the children 
of district 7 " have been carried to the school of the village for more than a year. 
The parents were at first mostly opposed to this course. They seem now en- 
tirely satisfied and would not have their old school if they could." In 1881 
the parents in district 2 petitioned the committee to close their school and con- 
vey their children to the center. A counter petition was sent in, however, before 
action had been taken. The committee, preferring to wait for a more permanent, 
sentiment, did not close the school. In the same year the school in district 5 
was closed without opposition. An attempt to close at the same time the school 
in district 6 met with so strenuous opposition that the committee did not per- 
sist in closing it. In their next report (18S2), the committee refer to their 
action as follows: 

It has not been the policy here to bring the children of the outside districts 
to the central schools unless the voters of the district desire it. When the 
number of pupils is less than 10, the committee feel that they are not war- 
ranted in incurring the expense of keeping a separate school. 

They also urge that — 

it is a question which the parents in the outer districts of the town should 
consider carefully, whether the instruction at the center of the town is not 
better, as well as cheaper, than it can be made in their own schools, and what 
is their duty in such a case. 

In 1885 the school in district 3 was closed at the request of the local mem- 
ber of the school committee. In 1887 the parents in district 2 petitioned the 
committee to convey their children to the center. The committee acted promptly 
and began to convey the children. A counter petition then was sent in, but an 
investigation was made, and the committee, consulting what they "believed to 
be the best interests of the children," denied the second petition. In the same 
year the school in district 6 was closed by vote of the committee, and the scheme 
of consolidation was effected. 

The apprehensions of the owners of real estate that a depreciation of values 
would result if the local schools were closed have proven to be groundless. The 
natural reluctance of parents to send their young children so far from home and 
for all day, to attend the center school, has vanished. The children are con- 
veyed in comfortable vehicles fitted up for their accommodation. They are in 
charge of trusty drivers en route, and at noon they are under the especial care 
of one of the teachers, who has an extra compensation for the service. When 
it is practicable, a farmer living near the extreme end of the district is 
employed to convey the children. Often the farmer's wife drives the convey- 
ance— an arrangement that meets the entire approval of the school committee, 
and is. perhaps, the most satisfactory one possible. As a rule the committee do 
not approve of intrusting the duty to the hired man. Three 2-horse barges and 
two 1-horse wagons are in use at present. All these vehicles are fitted with 
scats running lengthwise and are closed or open at sides and ends as the 
weather requires, and in cold weather are provided with blankets and straw. 



i Massachusetts Educational Exhibits at the World's Columbian Exposition. 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 11 

The driver starts from or near the remote end of his district and drives down 
the principal thoroughfare, taking up the children at their own doors or at cross- 
street corners. 

The attendance of the children conveyed is several per cent better than that 
of the village children, and it is far higher than it was in the old district 
schools. This is not strange when one reflects that the children are taken at or 
near their own doors and conveyed to school without exposure in stormy 
weather and with entire comfort in cold or snowy weather. Discipline in the 
carriages is maintained readily, as the driver has authority to put out any 
unruly child. The children are conveyed from 11 to 3+ miles. The cost of 
transportation is about $50 per week. It is estimated that it would cost $70 a 
week to maintain schools in all the districts. The number of teachers in the 
center school is not increased by the consolidation, as the SO to 100 children 
from the districts are distributed quite uniformly among the various rooms. 

Other consolidation in Massachusetts. — Following the Concord 
consolidated schools came others in the neighboring townships. 
Progress was slow, however. In 1882 the State abandoned the single 
district organization and adopted the tow r nship unit organization. 
Since that time each township, including the village, town, or city, 
has been a school unit, w T ith its school affairs managed by a single 
school board. With the adoption of this form of organization con- 
solidation became much easier, and the movement advanced more 
rapidly. In 1888 104 townships out of a total of 210 in the State 
were spending money for the conveyance of pupils. In the school 
year 1888-89 the amount paid for that purpose was $22,118.38. In 
1891-92 160 townships and cities were paying a total of $38,726.07 for 
transportation. A study made by Mr. Eaton, superintendent of Con- 
cord, Avho obtained data from 135 towns in 1892, showed that 15 of 
these towns were transporting high-school pupils only. The remain- 
ing 120 towns, prior to the beginning of the movement to consolidate, 
had supported 632 outlying schools. In 12 years 250 of these had 
been closed. 

In regard to the satisfaction given by the plan. Mr. Eaton has the 
following to say: 

The reasons for closing schools were given as " financial and educational." 
In many of the towns of the State depopulation of the districts outside of the 
villages has made it cheaper to transport to other schools than to teach them in 
situ. * * * In other towns the desire to make strong central schools and 
the purpose to give all of the children of the town the benefit of better appli- 
ances, better teachers, and better supervision have been the dominant motives 
to determine consolidation. * * * There is a substantial agreement in the 
affirmative that results have been satisfactory. 

In 1898, Mr. G. T. Fletcher, agent of the Massachusetts Board of 
Education, made an inquiry in the State concerning the extent of 
consolidation and the result from an educational and financial view- 
point. About 200 towns out of the 240 in the State reported. More 
than 65 per cent of this number reported that they had found it 
necessary or advantageous to close and consolidate some schools. 



12 



CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 



Mcrements of population inside town or city limits, as well as the 
exodus of people from many towns, had led to the closing of schools, 
but had not necessarily involved the transportation of pupils. The 
different towns reported from 1 to 10 schools as having been closed. 
As a rule, consolidation was partial only. In a few towns it was 
complete. In a few instances consolidation was accomplished " at 
one stroke.*' Most frequently, however, it was accomplished gradu- 
ally. In 25 instances it was accomplished by taking pupils from the 
higher grades to a central high-school building. The inquiry re- 
vealed that GO per cent of the towns reporting consolidation stated 
that the cost to the town was less than the old plan and the results 
better; 15 per cent that the cost was the same and the results better; 
8 per cent, the cost more and the results better; 8 per cent, the cost 
more, but the results not stated. In the remaining 9 per cent the 
cost and the result were not stated. The inquiry also showed the 
attitude of the public toward the policy of consolidation as seen by 
the school authorities — TO per cent of the people approved the policy 
and 30 per cent opposed it. 

In 1895 the State provided for its sparsely settled portions u union 
supervisory districts,*" composed of two or more of the smaller town- 
ships, and required the employment of professionally trained super- 
intendents, approved by the department for each district. This 
action further stimulated consolidation. At the present time the 
State has comparatively few one-room schools left J. E. Warren, 
until recently an agent of the State board of education, in a letter 
to the Bureau of Education in 1912, reported that there were then 
less than 900 one-room schools in the State. That is, fewer than 900 
teachers out of 15.979 employed in the State were in one-teacher 
schools. 

An idea of the extent of the consolidation movement in the State 
may be gained from the following figures, showing the expenditures 
of public-school superintendents for transportation each year since 
the State board of education began collecting such information: 



Aggregate cost of conveyance in Massachusetts. 



Amount 
expended. 

1888-S9 $22, 118. 38 

1889-90 24, 145. 12 

1890-91 30,64S. 6S 

1 xoi-02 3S, 726. 07 

1892-93 HO, 590. 41 

1893-94 03, 617. OS 

1894-95 76, 60S. 20 

1895-96 01. 136. 11 

1896-97 105, 317. 13 

1807-08 123,032.41 

1898-99 127,409.22 

1899-1900 141,753. 80 

1900-1901 151, 773. 47 



Amount 
expended. 

1901-2 .$165, 596. 91 

T.mii>-:>, 17S, 297. 64 

1903-4 194, 967. 35 

1904-5 213, 220. 93 

1005-6 236. 415. 40 

1906-7 252,451.11 

1907-S 265, 574. 00 

1008-0 202. 213. 33 

UKJO-10 310, 422. 15 

1910-11 320, S57. 13 

1011-12 362,185.00 

1912-13 384,140.00 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 13 

Consolidation in Ohio. — The movement spread from Massachusetts 
to other Northeastern States and the West and South, until now it 
is doubtful if a State can be found in the Union without several ex- 
amples of successful consolidated schools. Ohio and Indiana took 
hold of the idea earlier than most of the other States. Consolida- 
tion was easier to establish in these States than in the great majority 
of States, because both Ohio 1 and Indiana, like Massachusetts, are 
organized on the township basis, except that in Ohio and Indiana 
cities and towns may be independent school districts, with their 
schools separate in every way from the rest of the schools in the 
township. 

The first consolidated school in Ohio Avas the Kingsville School, 
in Ashtabula County. A. B. Graham, in a bulletin of the Ohio State 
University, says: 

In 18U2 the Kingsville Township board of education was confronted with the 
necessity of providing a new school building. Their schools were small, and 
the per capita expense was unduly large. It was finally agreed to transport 
the children of the township to Kingsville, which was one of the district schools 
of the township. For the cost of transportation a special bill was introduced 
into the general assembly and became a law April 17, 1S04. The measure 
applied only to Kingsville Township. In the succeeding general assembly 
another measure was passed for the relief of the counties of Stark, Ashtabula, 
and Portage. On April 5, 1898, the general assembly passed a general law on 
the subject. In 1S97, one year before the law was made general, Mad River 
Township, in Champaign County, transported IS children to Westville rather 
than establish a new subdistrict and build a new schoolhouse. This was the 
first step toward establishing a centralized school in western Ohio. 

A law of Ohio, approved April 25, 1904, authorized the board of 
education in any township to suspend schools in any or all sub- 
districts in the township and convey pupils to a centralized school, 
with the provision that no school with an average daily attendance 
of 12 or more could be abolished against the opposition of the ma- 
jority of the voters in the district. Following the passage of this 
law, the movement for consolidation progressed rapidly. In 1910, 
there were 178 centralized or consolidated schools in the State; 49 
of these were township schools serving the entire township. In 1912, 
there were 192 townships out of 1,370 in the State with their schools 
completely or partially centralized. The new school laws of 1914, 
given elsewhere in this bulletin, are intended to promote more rapid 
centralization. 

Consolidation in Indiana. — Consolidation in Indiana was first 
agitated by Caleb Mills in 1856. Nothing of importance, however, 
was done until 1889, when the legislature passed an act recognizing 
the right of township trustees to pay for the transportation of 
pupils to consolidated schools. In 1912, there were in the State 589 
consolidated schools, distributed in 73 of the 92 counties in the State. 

1 Ohio changed from the township basis to the county in July, 1914. 



14 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

There were still, however, 0,962 of the old district schools left, so 
that there is room for much further consolidation. Approximately 
ST per cent of the rural children in daily attendance are in consoli- 
dated schools. 

Some of the principal facts in regard to consolidation in Indiana, 
taken from the annual report of the State superintendent of public 
instruction for 1911-12. are as follows: 

Number of consolidated schools 5S9 

Number of district schools remaining 0, 962 

Number of regular school wagous 1, 44G 

Number of other vehicles used in transporting school children 532 

Cost of regular wagons per day $2. 2-1 

Total cost of all wagons per day $3,218.00 

Total cost of transportation ]>er year — $477, 110. 00 

Average cost per child per year — $19. 04 

Average length of route, in miles 4.5 

Average length of time children are in wagons, in minutes 81 

Per cent of improved roads traveled by wagons 77 

Average daily attendance in consolidated schools 31,314 

Average daily attendance in district schools 85, 583 

Consolidation in other States. — Massachusetts, Ohio, and Indiana 
have established a greater proportion of consolidated schools than 
any other States. The extent of the movement in all of the States is 
given in the following pages. It will be noticed that the movement 
has gone furthest in States with large administrative units for school 
affairs — that is, in those with the county or the township organiza- 
tion; and that it has made little headway in States with the small 
''school district' 1 unit, except in a few where a relatively large 
amount of financial aid is given by the State as a stimulant. The 
New England States, and New Jersey, Ohio, 1 Indiana, and North 
Dakota, all of which have many consolidated schools, are organized 
for school management on the township basis. Virginia, North Car- 
olina, Louisiana, and Tennessee, which also have many consolidated 
or union schools, are organized on the county basis. Washington 
and Minnesota, the only States organized on the single-district unit 
that have made much progress in consolidation, have done so on 
account of special State aid. 

The dependence of the movement for consolidation upon the form 
of organization is well illustrated by the States of Indiana and 
Illinois, the first with about GOO consolidated schools, the second 
with less than 50. Indiana is organized on the township basis, so 
that all the schools in any township are under the control of one 
agency. Illinois is organized on the "district" basis, the district 
being usually in rural territory, the area sewed by a single school. 
Each district has three trustees to manage the affairs of the school 
and to regulate the work of the teacher. The State has more than 

lOhio adopted the couuty unit basis in 1914. 



HISTOBY AND EXTENT OE THE MOVEMENT. , 15 

10,000 one-teacher schools; these 10,000 schools with 10,000 teachers 
are managed by 30,000 trustees. Consolidation under such conditions 
is difficult, since it means the formation of new districts out of two 
or more old districts, which is accomplished only after an adjustment 
has been reached of the business affairs and the jealousies of the old 
districts. Experience shows that sometimes the district trustees are 
the most difficult persons in the district to convince of the advantages 
of consolidation. The honor of serving in their position is sweet to 
them and given up reluctantly. 

The two States organized for the management of rural school 
affairs on the single-district basis, which have made notable progress 
in consolidation, are, as has been stated, Washington and Minnesota. 
Washington pays from the State school funds to consolidated schools 
an annual bonus of $170 for each school abandoned less one ; to illus- 
trate, if six districts combine and establish a single consolidated 
school, the new school receives each year from the State five times 
$170. In Minnesota, previous to 1912, practically no consolidations 
were effected. In 1911 the legislature passed the Holmberg Act, 
described more in detail elsewhere in this bulletin. 1 Under it con- 
solidated schools are classified and aided from State funds. The 
first year under the operation of the act 111 old districts were formed 
into 60 new districts. North Dakota, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa 
adopted, in the 1913 session of their legislatures, measures somewhat 
similar to the Holmberg Act. 

The following interesting statement of the beginnings of consoli- 
dation in Louisiana is by the State superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. Louisiana is organized on the county basis, the parish (county) 
board of education having complete control of the educational affairs 
of the parish. 

Row Louisiana began consolidation. — The consolidation idea in Louisiana had 
its birth in 1902 and was due to a cyclone. In the parish of Lafayette, a cy- 
clone destroyed a one-room schoolhouse located about 6 miles from the town of 
Scott. This occurred during the session, and as the building of a new school- 
bouse would cause the children to be out of school for a month or so, tw<» 
public-spirited citizens, members of the school board. Dr. Moss and Mr. Judice. 
proposed to furnish a wagonette temporarily at their own expense to be used 
in transferring the children who had been attending the little school that was 
destroyed to the school located in the town of Scott. Their proposition was ac- 
cepted by the board and the new plan put into operation. The idea worked 
out so successfully that the board decided not to rebuild the house, but to put 
in a permanent wagonette. Other communities in Lafayette heard of the new 
plan and petitioned the school board to place their children in central graded 
schools. In a year or so Lafayette parish had made practically every con- 
solidation that was possible and was operating a large number of wagonettes in 
which children were transported to central schools. Gradually the idea worked 
out through all parts of the State, and other parishes began trying the plan. 

1 See p. 31. 



16 CONSOLIDATING .SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The system now is general throughout Louisiana, practically every parish in 
the State having consolidated schools and most of them operating school 
transfers. 

The number of strictly consolidated country schools is 210, and the number 
of school wagonettes in use is 259. The average monthly cost of operating 
wagonettes is $3S, and the average number of children transported is 17. The 
following statistics will give a fairly correct idea of consolidation in this State. 
These statistics relate to white schools only and are for 1912. 

Number of schools of one teacher, 1,486 ; two teachers, 351 ; three teachers, S9 ; 
four or more teachers, 117. 

Several methods of transportation are employed in different parishes. In 
some cases the school board operates the wagonette and team and employs a 
man at so much per month to carry the children to and from school. Iu other 
instances the board buys the wagonette and employs a driver who furnishes his 
own team. In many cases the school board furnishes no wagonette, but pays 
each parent living beyond a certain distance from the school a certain monthly 
allowance for each day that his children attend the school. In still other cases 
the board limits the number of grades in the one-room schools, and all children 
of that community in higher grades are paid so much per day for attending a 
school which has higher grades. Each plan is working successfully. 

STATUS OF CONSOLIDATION IN VARIOUS STATES. 1 

Alabama. — From 1912 to 1913 there was a decrease of from 4,590 to 4,419 
public schools in the State. This decrease was due almost entirely to the estab- 
lishment of " union schools " ; that is, a one or two teacher school in a single 
building taking the place of two separate old schools. Consolidated schools 
with public transportation are found only in a few instances. In Mobile County, 
the only part of the State where public funds may be used for transportation, 
there are five consolidated schools, and in Sumner and Geneva Counties there 
are one each, with pupils transported at private expense. Ten school wagons 
and twelve private conveyances are used to transport the children to these 
schools. The average route is 3.5 miles. 

Arizona. — The school law authorizes consolidation and transportation at 
public expense. Under the provisions of this law many districts have united 
and built better school buildings and provided better schools, but no case is 
reported where pupils are transported to such schools at public expense. 

Arkansas. — " The basis for the work of consolidation of school districts in the 
State was fixed in the passage by the legislature in 1911 of an act which pro- 
vides in a comprehensive way for the consolidation of two or more adjacent 
school districts by vote of the people of the districts to be affected. Before the 
passage of this act, there was no adequate law for the consolidation of dis- 
tricts and there had been comparatively little done in the way of consolidation. 
With the new law as a basis for work, a good beginning has been made. On 
January 1, 1912, Mr. J. L. Bond was appointed supervisor of rural schools. He 
is cooperating with county superintendents, examiners, and teachers, in this 
campaign of education for consolidation. The number of now consolidated 
schools established so far is 18; approximately 225 districts have been reduced 
to 75. Transportation of pupils at district expense has been begun in most of 
these cases. There are about 24 wagons in use, paid for out of public money. 

" The consolidated work is being well received, and the people are more and 
more coming to realize and know that consolidation offers a safe, sane, and 

1 This statement has been compiled from the latest available State reports, supplemented 
by official correspondence. In many States, however, even the State departments are 
unable to furnish information on consolidation that is not at least li years old. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 2 




A. GARFIELD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, GARFIELD, WASH. 



If 



1 [ • *&M 




*■ -»**> 



B. ALHAMBRA CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT, NEAR PHOENIX, ARIZ. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



5ULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 3 




A. GREEN MEADOW SCHOOL, ADA COUNTY, IDAHO. 




B. UTAH COUNTY, UTAH. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 4 




A. CALEDONIA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, NORTH DAKOTA. 



CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 

in 

NORTH DAKOTA 






i_^r 




• i ■ 



• • • 



• ••• 




• Town Consolidated Schools. 170 

■ Open Country Consolidated Schools.... 1.01 

271 



•°r, r aiv.) by KCrUdoitald 
V.-.ll.-v Ci!v N.. Dnk..Julvl i J 



B. CONSOLIDATION IN NORTH DAKOTA. 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 17 

practical plau for building up strong schools in the rural communities of the 
State." (G. B. Cook, State superintendent of public instruction.) 

California^ — " California has had on its statute books for about 10 years a 
law permitting the consolidation of schools and the transportation of pupils at 
public expense, but has not as yet made wide use of either idea. The difficulty 
seems to be inertia and a reluctance to give up the little home schoolhouse. 
There are perhaps a dozen consolidated schools in the States, and they have 
been very successful. Our laws for transportation authorize high schools to act 
to any extent in transporting their children and elementary schools to a limit 
of 15 cents per day per pupil. Advantage has been taken of this more exten- 
sively, and with satisfactory results. Several schools have employed automo- 
biles or autotrucks to transport the children. These are swift, efficient, and 
satisfactory. Many high schools and rural schools have operated school wagons 
with excellent results." (Edward Hyatt. State superintendent of public 
instruction.) 

Colorado. — In June, 1912, according to the State superintendent of public in- 
struction, there were 13 consolidated schools in the State, to which 350 children 
were transported at public expense, the cost being $1.29 per child per mouth. In 
the following year seven additional consolidations were made. 

Connecticut. — According to the annual report of the Slate board of education 
for 1911, consolidation of schools began in 1S97-9S. In that year SI schools, 
located in 44 different townships, were closed, and the children transported to 
other schools. From 1S97 to and including 1912, 1,151 schools have been closed. 
In 1911-12, 3,481 children were transported at public expense, the total cost for 
transportation being $S2,465.97. In addition to this amount, .$32,056.57 was paid 
for the transportation of high-school pupils. 

Delaware. — Very few consolidations have been effected. As far as informa- 
tion has been obtained, no children are transported at public expense. 

Florida. — The annual report of the State department of public instruction for 
1912 states that " 12 counties in the State have made fair progress in the con- 
solidation of schools." No data are available to show the extent. 

Georgia. — In 1911 Georgia gave legal sanction specifically to consolidation and 
transportation at public expense. According to the figures collected by the State 
department of education, there were, in 1913, 109 consolidated schools, to which 
1,92S pupils were transported at public expense in 141 wagons. The average 
cost of transportation per child per year was $10.03. In a few counties some- 
thing had been done before this act was passed, Fulton and Hancock having 
done perhaps more than any others. 

Idaho. — Several consolidated schools are found in the State. The Twin Falls 
consolidated district is 42 square miles in extent, and children are transported 
in 17 wagons. Jerome district has an area of 220 square miles, a total enroll- 
ment of 3S3 pupils, and an average daily attendance of 339. Much of the dis- 
trict, however, is unsettled. Eleven wagons convey pupils to and from the school. 

Illinois. — In 1913 there were 40 consolidated schools in the State. "The 
consolidation of districts and the establishment of centralized schools has been 
making slow progress. In every legislature for 10 years a vigorous effort to 
secure legislation which would facilitate this movement has been made, but 
has failed. The Farmer's Institute, the State university, and quite a num- 
ber of county superintendents have favored the measure. Conservative people 
dislike to make the change. They dread the long drive to the schoolhouse and 
fear that the condition of the roads will make it impracticable. But the 
effective opposition comes from certain landlords, and certain private school 
interests. 

61454°— 14— —2 



18 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

"At Seward, in Winnebago County, the first consolidated school was estab- 
lished in 1903- Three districts were united, and a four-room school has since 
been maintained. Transportation of pupils has not been undertaken. The 
school does not differ from the village schools of the same number of rooms 
and teachers. 

" Near the village of McNabb, in Putnam County. Mr. John Swaney gave 20 
acres of fine land, and three districts united. The building cost about $20,000. 
A four-room school is maintained, having a full four-year high-school course, 
agriculture being one of the studies carried through the four years. The 
school is located in the open country and is in fact an up-to-date rural school. 
There are few schools in the entire country that put into practice so many 
advanced ideas as this school. It is patronized by the advanced pupils of all 
the country round. Only the best qualified teachers are employed. Pupils 
were transported at first at public expense, but on complaint of taxpayers the 
circuit court enjoined the authorities from doing so, and now the expense of 
running wagons is paid by private subscription. 

The Harlem School, just outside the city limits of Rockford, in Winnebago 
County, was formed by the union of four districts, through which an inter- 
urban railroad extends. Like the John Swaney School, it puts into practice 
modern ideas of rural education. 

" The Scottland School, Edgar County ; district 115, Woodford County ; 
Hindsboro School, Douglas County ; and Buncomb School, Johnson County, are 
located in small villages, one or two districts having been annexed. They 
differ little from ordinary village schools. 

" The most extensive consolidation has just taken place in Paw Paw Town- 
ship, in DeKalb County. The territory comprises about 36 sections of land. 
Eight districts have been consolidated and a $30,000 building erected. Trans- 
portation is absolutely necessary in this district, and the authorities have 
undertaken it. 

" Consolidation will not advance rapidly until the law is so changed as to 
permit it without the danger of a lawsuit." (F. G. Blair, State superintend- 
ent of public instruction, 1912.) 

Indiana. — Indiana had 589 consolidated schools in 1912, attended daily by 
31,314 children. Information concerning Indiana has been given in the first 
pages of this bulletin. 1 

Iowa. — In the annual State school report for 1911-12, Iowa reports the 
following statistics regarding the consolidation in that State for the year 
ended June 30, 1912. A study of the attendance and cost of some of these 
consolidated schools as compared with district schools is given in another place 
hi this report. 

Total number of consolidated schools 47 

With 8 grades in course 4 

With 10 grades in course 11 

With 11 grades in course 9 

With 12 grades in course 22 

With 13 grades in course 1 

Number of schools abandoned before June 30, 1911 84 

Number of schools abandoned after June 30, 1911 18 

Number of pupils from abandoned schools in consolidated 

schools 1,554 

Number transported at public expense 1,643 

Number of school wagons 93 

Total cost of transportation $34,607 

Total enrollment 10- 2 ^ 7 

Average daily attendance 8,254 

1 See p. 13. 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 19 

Kansas. — " The first consolidated school in Kansas was established in 1896. 
Since then 75 others have been organized and are in operation. Between 
6,000 and 7,000 pupils are in attendance at these schools. The area served by 
them is something more than 1,200 square miles. Many of these schools 
have established high-school courses, some of them with the full four years. 
In every instance the movement has proved to be an unqualified success. 

"As in many other States, the number of schools in Kansas having small 
enrollment or average daily attendance is very great. To overcome this condi- 
tion and to render the schools really efficient, consolidation seems to be the only 
remedy. That more rapid progress has not been made is due chiefly to the 
objection of violating the traditions, and to the fear that consolidation may 
mean increased expense. In the light of our Kansas experience, it is my judg- 
ment that State aid should be provided for all consolidated districts. This aid 
ought not to be considerable, but would prove a temptation that would overcome 
much of the present inertia. I can not speak too strongly of the entire success 
of this movement, and believe that it is one of the most complete solutions of the 
present rural school problem." (E. T. Fairchild, then State superintendent of 
public instruction, 1912.) 

Kentucky. — The first consolidated school in the State was at Mays Lick, 
Mason County, effected in 1911. Further information concerning this school 
is given in another part of this bulletin. 1 Three other consolidated schools 
were established in the county in 1912. Fayette County has three consolidated 
schools; Madison County, 1; and Garrard County. 1; all of these were effected 
in 1912. A great interest in consolidation exists in the State at the present 
time, due to the appointment in 1912 of approximaely 79 supervisors work- 
ing as assistants to county superintendents, who are all carrying out a campaign 
of education as to the advantages of consolidation. The movement has been 
helped also by the establishment of over 200 demonstration schools, each of 
which is a center for the surrounding district schools, and many of which are 
beginning to take care of the pupils in the upper grades for the surrounding 
schools. 

Louisiana. — Consolidation in Louisiana began in 1902. In 1912 there were 
210 consolidated schools in the State, with 259 wagons, each transporting an 
average number of 17 children. The extent of the consolidation movement 
may be gathered from the following figures, which are for the rural schools 
for white children only : 

Number of one-teacher schools 1,486 

Number of two-teacher schools 351 

Number of three-teacher schools 89 

Number of four or more teacher schools 117 

Further information concerning the Louisiana schools is given in another 
place in this bulletin. 2 

There were several consolidations during the year 1918. The number of one- 
teacher schools decreased 115. Mr. C. J. Brown, State sbupervisor of rural 
schools, says in regard to the present movement : " No definite reports along this 
line have been received at this office. Consolidation is taking place all of the 
time, but it has become so fixed a policy as not to create any comment nor 
require any special campaigning, except in rare instances." 

Maine. — " The discontinuance of a school and its consolidation with another 
is accomplished in any of these three ways : 

"(1) By operation of the statute which forbids, with certain exceptions, the 
continuance of a school that has failed for the preceding school year to main- 
tain an average attendance of eight pupils ; or — 

1 See p. 70. 2 See p. 15. 



20 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TEANSPOETING PUPILS. 

"(2) By action of the township school committee, which has authority 
granted by law, to discontinue for a period not to exceed one year any school 
it believes to be too small for profitable maintenance; or — 

"(3) By action of the citizens through the town meeting. 

" It will be noted that the second method does not provide for permanent dis- 
continuance: schools are actually discontinued permanently only by the first or 
third method. 

" Maine does not have the district system ; the action of the residents of any 
community is without force. Of course, the sentiment of the local community 
is an important factor when any action relative to the status of its school is 
contemplated either by a school committee or by the town itself. In general it 
should be said that local sentiment is strongly against consolidation, and the 
discontinuance of a school is very rarely accomplished without strong protest 
from school patrons. 

"A general statute provides that the superintending school committee shall 
pass final judgment on the necessity of conveyance of pupils. When the com- 
mittee adjudges the distance from a child's residence to the school is too great 
to require the child to walk, then the superintendent of schools must secure 
conveyance for all or a part of the distance, or ne may, if specially authorized 
by the committee, provide board in place of conveyance. 

" Under the operation of these statutes there have been discontinued approxi- 
mately 700 schools. Probably the majority of permanent discontinuances have 
come about through the first method described. 

"During the school year of 1912-13. 7,1S3 pupils were conveyed to school at 
the expense of the towns. This number represents a little less than 6 per cent 
of the common-school enrollment. The conveyance cost the towns approxi- 
mately $155,264. 

" There has been very little school consolidation in Maine of the kind that 
takes a number of one-room schools and establishes in their place a school of 
several rooms. Consolidation has taken the form of uniting two or three very 
small one-room rural schools into a single one-room school, or of employing a 
village school as a nucleus and building it larger to accommodate the combined 
schools." (Payson Smith, State superintendent of public schools, 1912.) 

Maryland. — Comparatively little has been done in the State in consolidating 
schools except the activity of the past year or two. Scattered throughout the 
State are several instances of consolidation. Montgomery County, for instance, 
has the Poolesville consolidated school, with public transportation, effected in 
1911, and two others effected in 1912. Baltimore and Prince George counties 
have several. 

Massachusetts. — Information concerning the history and extent of the move- 
ment in Massachusetts is given in the first pages of this bulletin. 1 

Michigan. — The State superintendent reports that there are few consolidated 
schools in the State, and that no data have been collected by the State depart- 
ment in regard to the half dozen or so which do exist. A report of the Corn- 
stock consolidation, abandoned after several years trial, is given later in this 
bulletin. 

Minnesota. — "Consolidation as a State-wide educational policy in Minnesota 
began with the passage of the Holmberg Act 2 in 1911. This law provides the 
inducement of generous State aid for consolidated schools and fixes standards 
for area of district, building, equipment, teachers' qualifications, industrial 
courses, and transportation. 

1 See p. 7. s See p. .si. . ■ 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 21 

" Previous to 1911, Minnesota had only 9 consolidated schools. During the 
year 1912 there have been over 60 established. The old type was only a school 
of more than one department and revealed all the faults of the one-room dis- 
trict school. The new type, under the guidance of the State department of 
public instruction, is an institution with distinctive features. 

" 1. The building is modern in arrangement, is equipped with central heating 
plant, fan ventilation, and a water-pressure system for flush closets, and bub- 
bling drinking fountains. Lighting, seating, library facilities, blackboards, and 
general apparatus are as well provided for as in the best of village and city 
schools. 

"2. Transportation is 'standardized by requiring that vans used conform to 
State specifications, and by limiting the distance any child must ride to reach 
school. 

"3. Stress is placed upon seeming the best trained and most experienced 
teachers for this work. 

"The principals of the schools are considered vital factors in the success of 
the movement. To the end that they may be in sympathy with the State's pur- 
pose it is the intention to require them to gather for a six weeks' summer course 
at the State Farm School each season. This season 45 men came together for 
this purpose. Besides doing regular class work in agriculture and manual 
training they met with some State representative of the consolidated school 
movement for one hour each day for the discussion of special problems. It is 
hoped that these schools are to become centers for the social, economic, intel- 
lectual, and moral uplift of the communities in which they are placed. 

" Consolidated school aid is $750, $1,000, and $1,500 annually for schools of 
two, three, and four or more rooms, respectively. There is also building aid of 
$1,500. 

" Instruction is required in agriculture, manual training, and household econ- 
omy, and the school is intended to serve as a distributing point for the fund 
of valuable information collected by the Federal Department of Agriculture 
and the State colleges of agriculture. 

"During the school year of 1911-12 there were transported 911 children at a 
total cost of $20,870, or $21.70 per child. The average number of days of at- 
tendance is 150, making the daily cost of transportation per child about 14.5 
cents. In schools not consolidated partial reports show about 1.500 children 
transported at an annual cost of $2,700, or $1S per child per year. The aver- 
age number of days of attendance in these schools is 90, making the daily cost 
of transportation per child about 20 cents." (E. M. Phillips, rural school com- 
missioner.) 

Mississippi. — In the fall of 1907 the State superintendent appointed a com- 
mittee of three county superintendents to prepare a report on the subject of the 
consolidation of schools. This report was adopted by the association of county 
superintendents, and a bill prepared providing for consolidation and trans- 
portation for the 190S legislature. It failed to pass. The bill was reintroduced 
in 1910, amended and strengthened, and passed. Further amendments were 
found necessary, and these were provided in 1912. As the result of the 1910 
bill and the 1912 amendments the State has consolidated more than 175 schools 
and has more than 240 wagons in operation. 

In 1912-13 there were organized 75 consolidated schools, with the children 
transported in 100 wagons. The average area of these 75 consolidated dis- 
tricts is 30 square miles; the 75 buildings erected cost approximately $140,000. 
During the year Pearl River County replaced 31 schools with 6 consolidated 
schools, to which children are transported in 21 school wagons; Harrison 



22 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPOKTING PUPILS. 

Comity, one of the largest in the State, has 15 consolidated schools, and only 30 
one- tea cher schools are left. 

Missouri. — The State superintendent of public education, Mr. W. P. Evans, 
wrote in August, 1912 : " The story of consolidation in Missouri is a short one. 
The laws are ready and nothing is needed but that they be taken advantage of; 
yet practically no consolidation exists. The laws of Missouri permit three or 
more common-school districts or a village district with two or more common- 
school districts to unite into a consolidated district. By a law passed in 1911, 
if two-thirds of the voters authorize it. transportation may be provided for from 
the school funds. While common-school districts are not authorized to main- 
tain high schools, such consolidated districts may maintain high schools as well 
as elementary schools. Comparatively little has been done toward consolidation 
under these statutes, although the law permitting consolidation has been on 
the statute books for 11 years." Since this was written the State legislature, 
in 1913, revised the laws on consolidated schools and now offers special State 
aid to urge consolidation. By January 1, 1914, 29 consolidated schools had been 
established. The main features of this law are given elsewhere in this bulletin. 

Montana. — The movement for consolidation began in the State in Ravalli 
County in 1910. After an agitation lasting over a year, four districts united to 
form a consolidated district. Children were transported to a central building 
in six transportation wagons. Up to the present time no other consolidated 
schools have been reported. 

Nebraska. — There are approximately 35 consolidated schools in the State, 
with transportation at public expense. They vary in size from two-teacher 
schools to five-teacher schools. 

Nevada. — No reports of consolidated schools have been received. 

New Hampshire. — "Consolidation of rural schools accomplished by trans- 
portation of pupils at public expense has been going forward in New Hampshire 
since 1885, the date of the abolition of the old school district system. It has 
never assumed the character of a universal policy, but, on the other hand, 
there is hardly a community in the State which has not done more or less of it. 

" There have been two somewhat distinct possibilities before each of the sev- 
eral school boards: (1) To effect absolute consolidation — that is, bring all the 
children in the township together in a single large building having from four 
to eight rooms; (2) the other, to consolidate small one-room schools into larger 
one-room schools. 

" The former policy has rarely been possible of accomplishment, due largely 
to the topography of the State. Four to five miles is the maximum distance 
which children may profitably be carried over hilly country. Otherwise a start 
must be made at an hour which is too early, and the return to the remoter 
homesteads is felt to be too late, especially for the younger children. This fact 
is ordinarily of itself sufficient to prevent absolute consolidation. However, in 
several townships favorably situated the plan is carried out. That is to say, 
either all the schools are consolidated into large buildings or into one large 
building with one or two distant one-room schools in remote and relatively 
inaccessible parts of the township. 

"The other type of consolidation, namely, the consolidation of several small 
one-room schools into one large one-room school, has entered into the policy 
of nearly every town in the State. In the period 1885-1911 the reduction in 
the number of schools by consolidation has been about 25 per cent." (H. C. 
Morrison, State superintendent of public instruction.) 

New Jersey.— "la New Jersey the State pays 75 per cent of the cost of the 
transportation of pupils, the remaining 25 per cent being paid from local dis- 
trict tax. The county superintendent of schools, who is appointed by the 



TTTSTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 23 

commissioner of education, approves the necessity for transportation, and the 
cost and method thereof. 

" The total amount spent for transportation during the year ending June 30, 
1912, was $185,099.46. The corresponding cost for transportation during the 
five years preceding, was as follows : 

1905-6 $11, S8S. 04 

1906-7 21, 449. 68 

1907-S 67. 840. 44 

1908-9 : 109, 502. 12 

1909-10 145, 736. S6 

" The law provides that consolidation of schools may take place if the 
majority of voters at a special election in each of the districts affected by the 
proposed consolidation approve. Under this law from 75 to 100 schools have 
been abandoned and consolidated with other schools or districts. 

" In this connection it should be borne in mind that New Jersey is largely 
an urban State. In the rural districts, where consolidation is most needed, 
there is still much opposition to it, although in some sections the opposition 
has practically disappeared. Parents frequently, and in many cases per- 
sistently, object to sending their children, young children particularly, long 
distances from home. There is the further objection that the abandonment 
of the local school would damage the locality by removing the chief com- 
munity center, and property would consequently depreciate in value. This op- 
position is strong enough to prevent consolidation in many sections where it 
is needed. 

" However, public sentiment in the State as a whole is gradually becoming 
more favorable to the movement.'" (Calvin N. Kendall. State commissioner of 
education. ) 

New York. — " The education law of this State confers upon district superin- 
tendents the power to dissolve school districts and to annex the territory 
to adjoining districts. There is not in operation in this State the plan of con- 
solidation of schools as such plan is understood in the central and western 
States. The general policy of this State has always been to maintain a public 
school wherever sufficient property and children can be brought together for 
such purpose and the people are willing to meet the necessary expenses in- 
curred thereby. 

" School districts may contract for the education of their children in ad- 
joining districts, instead of maintaining a home school. When such contracts 
are made, a district which does not maintain a home school, but which con- 
tracts for the education of its children, is allowed the same apportionment 
from public funds as if it maintained a public school. This money may be 
used by the district for the payment of tuition and the cost of transportation. 
There were 475 districts in this State last year which maintained schools 
under the contract system. 

" In addition to this plau, the State will pay high-school tuition for any 
child in the State meeting the requirements for admission to a high school 
and living in a district which does not maintain a high school. During the 
past year, the State paid the tuition of about 15.000 children who lived in dis- 
tricts which did not maintain high schools." (Thos. E. Finegan, assistant com- 
missioner of education.) 

North Carolina. — The State department has only partial statistics relating 
to the consolidation of schools in the State. More than 1.200 small districts 
have been abolished during the past 10 years, yet this has been done without 
the necessitj' for public transportation of pupils. A wider type of consolida- 
tion which renders necessary public transportation is now being favorably 



24 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

considered by several of the most progressive county superintendents. In three 
counties a few wagons arc used for the transportation of pupils. 

North Dakota. — The movement for consolidation began in 1904, the first con 
solidated schools being established that year. In 1914 there were 271 legally 
consolidated schools in the State, 170 of which were located in villages and 101 
in the open country. In addition there are 083 schools, each serving a large 
territory with pupils living more than 2i miles from the school. Of these 6S3 
schools, 203 transport pupils at public expense. Only 53 of them are commonly 
spoken of as consolidated. 

Ohio. — Information concerning consolidation in Ohio is given in the first 
pages of this bulletin. 1 

Oklahoma. — 

Number of common-school districts in Oklahoma 5,507 

Number of consolidated districts in Oklahoma 91 

Number of consolidated districts formed since July, 1911 22 

Number of districts using transportation 42 

Number of wagons used in transportation 130 

Number of pupils carried in wagons 2,990 

.Cost of transportation for the year 1911-12 $41,314 

Number of counties having consolidated districts 35 

Oregon. — There are several consolidated schools throughout the State. Stevens 
County, where more has been done than in any other county, reports S consoli- 
dated schools replacing 20 district schools. 

Pennsylvania. — " Consolidation of schools is very difficult in the State of Penn- 
sylvania as a whole, on account of the mountainous character of the State. 
Wherever pupils can be hauled to school within an hour and be brought back 
to their homes before dark the policy of transportation and consolidation has 
been successful, but under the most favorable circumstances there is a great 
deal of opposition to the closing of schools by reason of the inconvenience to 
which many pupils are subjected." (Nathan C. Schaeffer. State superintendent 
of public instruction.) 

Rhode Island. — The question is of slight importance in the State, as only 7 
per cent of the people are rural. The State superintendent reports: "The con- 
solidation of schools in Rhode Island has almost ceased to be a problem. It has 
been carried nearly as far as possible." 

South Carol ina. —X "rural graded-school act," passed by the State legislature 
early in 1912, directly encourages consolidation. During the school year 1912-13, 
largely as a result of this act, 41 schools were discontinued on account of con- 
solidation with other schools. There were 45 wagons used to transport children, 
085 children being transported at public expense. Comparatively few consoli- 
dated schools had been established previously. 

Tennessee. — The legislature in 1903 passed an act under which the school and 
civil districts were made coextensive and took the power to create school dis- 
tricts away from the county courts, where it had previously rested. The same 
act required that many small schools should be abolished. Under this provision 
it is estimated fully 1,000 small schools in the State were discontinued. In 
1905 the legislature provided for the county unit of organization in several 
counties. In 1!><>7 this was extended to all counties in the State. Since these 
acts the county boards of education have had control of all the schools in their 
respective counties, and consolidation has progressed. In 1911, in 37 of the 90 
counties in the State, Of, new schools were established to replace 149 schools 
abandoned. The new schools served an average of 14 square miles each and 
had an average of 3 teachers. In 1913 there were 84 additional schools aban- 



» Bee p. 13. 



HISTORY AND EXTENT OF THE MOVEMENT. 25 

doned and replaced by 45 schools, each with 2 or more teachers. There are 
28 schools in the State using school wagons. 

Texas. — Little has been done toward consolidation in the State, although a 
beginning has been made in several counties. In 123 counties there have been 
148 consolidations, resulting in the abandonment of 105 schools. 

Utah. — The people of the State live almost entirely in villages and cities, 
and not on their farms. As a consequence there are practically no one-room 
schoolhouses. There are hardly more than 20 in the State. Consolidation, 
however, is taking place. Eight counties of the State are now organized into 
single-school districts, with all schools in each county under the control of 
a county board of education. Tbis has resulted in the closing of small 
schools and the establishment of several consolidated schools with public 
transportation. The county board of education of Box Elder County, for 
example, during 1912-13 erected 11 new school buildings, at a total cost of 
$205,000, to take the place of 30 old buildings; 20 wagons were put into opera- 
tion to carry the children from the abandoned schools. The high-school work 
is all concentrated at one large school at Brigham City. Transportation to a 
maximum of $2 a week is allowed students outside Brigham City, thus equaliz- 
ing in part the cost of high-school education throughout tbe county. 

Vermont. — No data is available relative to the extent to which consolidated 
schools have been established. An estimate may be made from the amount 
expended for transportation. In 1S92 the first act was passed authorizing 
expenditure of school funds for transportation. East year the expenditure was 
$120,303. There are 421 unused abandoned rural schoolhouses in the State. 

Virginia. — In 1906 there were in the State 7,320 schoolhouses. with 9,22S 
rooms; in 1912, 6,743 schoolhouses, with 10.730 rooms — 577 fewer houses, with 
1,502 more rooms. Over 200 transportation wagons are in use. 

Washington. — " Practically all of the progress in the consolidation of rural 
schools in this State has been made during the past five years. Transportation 
of pupils is being done successfully in about 50 consolidated districts, scat- 
tered through about 20 counties of the State. More than 2,000 pupils are trans- 
ported in this manner, at an average daily cost of $2.00 per wagon. About 
$50,000 is spent annually for this purpose. There are now (in 1912) in the 
State 120 consolidated schools, replacing 296 old districts." (J. M. Eayhue, 
assistant State superintendent of public instruction.) 

West Virginia. — Owing to the mountainous character of so large a part of 
West Virginia, the transportation of pupils to centralized schools can never 
become universal throughout the State. 

However, material progress has been made along the lines of transportation. 
The work is of two classes, namely, consolidation with transportation either 
by the public wagon, the trolley, or the steam railroad, and consolidation with- 
out transportation. Thus far consolidation with transportation has been put 
into effect principally in the northern panhandle of the State, the eastern pan- 
handle, a section of the southeast near the Virginia line, and a small area in 
the north-central section of the State. 

At Gary, in McDowell County, which is in the midst of a populous mining 
section, 10 schools have been consolidated into one. The new building is 
strictly fireproof, with glass roof, modern sanitary apparatus, and general 
equipment equal to that of the best city schools. This plant, including the 
land, will be worth from $60,000 to $75,000. A large percentage of the pupils 
are transported by wagons. 

At Sherrard, in Marshall County, a centralized school costing $40,000 has 
been completed. This school takes the place of the village school and four 



26 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

one- room schools in the adjoining territory. Three wagons are employed to 
transport the pupils. 

At places in Marion, Wetzel, and some other counties effective consolidation 
on a limited scale is carried on by means of the trolley lines running in various 
directions through the territory. 

At Charles Town, in Jefferson County, in the eastern panhandle, is a school 
employing 17 teachers, which includes the grades and a high school. One-fourth 
of all the pupils in the school come from the surrounding country, all of them 
by private conveyance. A " pony brigade," made up of boys and girls who ride 
some distance, is a feature of the school. 

The consolidated schools are uniformly better than the old. but as a rule they 
are not money-saving institutions. We have a number of cases, however, in 
which consolidation has not only brought better schools and better school con- 
ditions, but has actually worked a material saving in the cost of maintaining 
the schools. Rock district, in Mercer County, affords one of the most striking 
instances of this kind. At Montcalm, in this county, a four-room house has 
been built, which for the present year will easily accommodate the 75 pupils 
within a radius of 2 miles who were taught last year by six teachers in 2 two- 
room schools and 2 one-room schools. It will be seen that the salary of two 
teachers, as well as the additional fuel expense for two additional rooms, will 
be saved. Since the district maintains an eight-month term and pays an 
average salary of $45 to $50, the consolidation effected wilf save the district 
at least $800 a year. At Mora, in the same district, a four-room house has been 
built, to take the place of 3 two-room schools and 3 one-room schools, with 
their necessary nine teachers, all within a radius of li miles and enrolling but 
SO pupils last year. The money saved here is more than double that in the case 
of Montcalm. There are other instances of consolidation in the district more 
or less striking. It has been found that 25 of the 100 teachers employed in that 
district may be dispensed with without any loss to the effectiveness of the work. 

We are working out this process of consolidation to a greater or less degree in 
each county in the State. Of course, there are few places where the advantages 
of consoMdation are as evident as in the instances cited. 

In all more than 100 isolated schools have been abandoned within a year past. 
(M. P. Shawkey, State superintendent of free schools.) 

Wisconsin. — The matter of consolidation has been agitated during the past 
few years and several consolidations have resulted. The two most notable 
cases of consolidation are those at Port Wing and at North Crandon, both in 
the northern part of the State. Four or five wagons are used in each district 
to transport the children to school. In each instance the territory of the district 
comprises the whole township. Other notable consolidations are at P»russels, 
Beetown, and Zenda. In these districts, however, transportation is not fur- 
nished. One or more cases of consolidation and transportation of children 
at public expense are found in each of 45 out of the 69 counties. 

Wyoming. — No consolidation is reported from this State. 



II. STATE LEGISLATION CONCERNING CONSOLIDA- 
TION AND TRANSPORTATION. 

It is, of course, well understood that consolidation can make little 
progress without favorable school laws. In the following pages a 
summary is given of those now in force in each of the States on this 
subject and also on the question of transportation at public expense. 



STATE LEGISLATION. 27 

It will be noted that in only a few States are the education author- 
ities given power to consolidate school subdistricts without first se- 
curing a favorable vote from the qualified voters in the districts 
affected. The county boards of education in Florida, Louisiana, 
North Carolina, and Tennessee have such power. The Maryland 
county board may close schools of less than 1:2 pupils. Within cer- 
tain limits a few township boards in States where the township is 
the unit of administration have the same power. Usually, however, 
it requires a favorable vote at a meeting open to all voters in the 
township. Schools in Indiana whose average daily attendance falls 
below 12 in any year are closed at the end of the year by State law, 
and the children are cared for the following year in some other 
school, being conveyed to the school at the expense of the district. 
In the same way Louisiana schools with an average daily attendance 
of 10 are closed, those in Maine with an average daily attendance of 
9, and in Ohio of 12. If the number of children of school age falls 
below 25 in any school district of New Mexico or below 20 in any 
district in Texas, the district must be abolished and included in 
neighboring districts. 

The votes for or against consolidation in the great majority of 
States are taken in meetings held simultaneously in each district 
affected, and, to carry, must have a majority vote in every district. 
One district has often succeeded in preventing a consolidation which 
all others concerned wanted. In four States— New York, Minnesota, 
Iowa, and Missouri — the votes are not taken in the separate dis- 
tricts, but are taken at one central meeting of all the districts con- 
cerned, each district sending representatives. A majority vote of 
those present is sufficient to carry the measure, regardless of the 
districts in which those favorable or unfavorable to the movement 
live. 

In nearly all States pupils may be transported to consolidated 
schools at the expense of the school districts. In several States 
school authorities may pay parents or guardians a fixed amount per 
day instead of furnishing transportation. South Dakota and Wis- 
consin are among the States that fix the amount that may be paid 
in accordance with the mileage pupils travel. Maine, Vermont, 
Minnesota, South Dakota, and Oregon permit payments for board 
and room for pupils in homes convenient to the schools where the 
cost of so doing does not exceed the cost of transportation. 

In several States special State aid to stimulate consolidation is given. 
In most instances, however, such action is very recent, and time 
enough has not elapsed to show the results. Rhode Island allows 
any township which has consolidated three or more ungraded 
schools into a single graded school, with not less than 20 pupils in 
each department, the sum of $100 annually for each department. 



28 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The State of Washington pays to each consolidated school approxi- 
mately $170 annually for every district abandoned to form the new 
district. Vermont appropriates an annual amount to be expended 
in reimbursing, in part, towns for moneys expended for transporta- 
tion. Iowa appropriates money to purchase equipment and to assist 
in maintaining courses in agriculture, domestic economy, and other 
industrial subjects. Only consolidated schools may receive the bene- 
fits of this appropriation. Missouri voted in 1013 to pay annually 
to every consolidated school $25 for each square mile in the con- 
solidated district. In Tennessee 10 per cent of the general school 
funds is set aside for encouraging instruction in industrial subjects 
and assisting consolidated schools of three or more teachers. South 
Carolina and North Dakota divide consolidated schools into two 
classes, and a different amount of State aid is given to each. The 
regulations of North Dakota are given below in abbreviated form 
as an example of such regulations. The most important features 
of the laws on consolidation of Wisconsin and Minnesota are also 
presented below, since the regulations of these two States are worthy 
of special note. 

Wisconsin gives aid for erecting and equipping the consolidated 
school building, and also annual aid for transportation. The en- 
actments were passed by the 1913 legislature, so that time enough 
has not elapsed to determine the efficacy of the law. The Min- 
nesota laws on consolidation were passed in 1011. and their effective- 
ness is explained on page 20. Minnesota defines three classes of 
consolidated schools; the amount of State aid received by a school 
depends upon its classification. It is an annual grant. In addition 
the State pays 25 per cent of the cost of the building. The Minne- 
sota act is known as the Holmberg Act, and is reproduced in full, 
vsince it is of particular interest, and has been copied in part by 
several States. 

(A) Requirement oe Law and of the North Dakota State Board of Educa- 
tion for Classification on Consolidated Schools. 

Fii'St class. — To be entitled to aid as a State consolidated school of the first 
class, the law and regulations of the board require: 

1. School Term : Must be not less than nine months during the school year. 

2. Attendance: The actual per cent of attendance for the school must be not 
less than 80; provided that each child between the ages of 8 and 15. inclusive. 
must attend school for the entire time that the school is in session, unless it 
can be shown to the satisfaction of the Stale board of education that the non- 
attendance is due to one of the following causes, viz (1) attendance elsewhere 
tit some approved school: (2) extreme poverty or destitution of the family 
which the county has failed to relieve on being recpiested to do so by the family 
in question; (3) completion of the course; (4) physical or mental incapacity; 
and (5) lack of transportation beyond the 2A-mile limit. 



STATE LEGISLATION. 29 

3. Departments : Must be not less than four departments. 

4. Teachers : The principal must be a graduate of a State normal school or 
higher institution of learning; he must hold a professional certificate; and must 
receive not less than $00 per month. Each teacher must hold a first-grade ele- 
mentary certificate or better, be a graduate of a standard four-year high-school 
course or equivalent, and must receive not less than $65 per month. On and 
after July 1, 1914, each teacher must be a graduate of a standard four-year 
normal-school course or equivalent, and must receive not less than $70 per 
month. All teachers must render efficient service of a high grade. 

5. School Buildings : Must be suitable for school purposes, clean and well 
kept. Fire escapes and outswinging doors in the exits must be provided, as 
required by law. There must be at least 12 square feet of floor space and 200 
cubic feet of air space provided for each pupil. 

6. Equipment : Each department must be provided with encyclopedia, dic- 
tionaries, supplementary readers, maps, globe, desks, and seats, blackboards, 
drinking water, laboratory equipment. 

7. Course of study : The common-school subjects, including elementary agri- 
culture, as named in the law and outlined in the State course of study, must be 
taught. A two-year high-school course must be offered, as outlined in the high- 
school manual. This shall include a course in either sewing or cooking and a 
course in either manual training or agriculture, provided at least 10 qualified 
high-school pupils ask for same. 

S. Library: Must have a well-selected library of at least 150 volumes, divided 
between general and reference. 

In addition there are certain regulations regarding heating, ventilating, and 
lighting required, also concerning outhouses and school grounds. 

Second class. — To be entitled to State aid as a school of this class the re- 
quirements are practically the same as for the first class, except that the school 
may have two or more departments instead of four or more. 

(B) Wisconsin Special State Aid to Assist in Erecting and Equipping 
Consolidated School Buildings. 

1. Whenever 15 per cent of the electors of any rural school district, and one 
or more contiguous school districts or subdistricts within or outside of an 
incorporated village, shall petition therefor, the respective school boards shall 
meet at a place designated by the school board of the petitioning district having 
the largest population to fix a time for an election to determine whether the 
district schools within the districts shall be consolidated. They shall fix the 
date of the election at not less than four nor more than eight weeks from the 
time of their meeting and notify the district clerks of the date. The district 
clerks of the respective districts and subdistricts shall post the notices of elec- 
tion as notices of school district meetings are posted. The elections shall be 
held by the school officers of the respective districts by written ballots. They 
shall report the result of the election in their respective districts to the clerk 
of the district in which the meeting to fix the time of the election is held, 
within three days after the election. The respective school boards, one week 
after the election, shall meet in the same manner and place as for calling the 
election and shall canvass the returns. 

If a majority of those of each district voting at the election vote in favor 
of consolidating the district schools in their respective school districts, the 
territory included constitutes a consolidated rural school district. 

The school boards at the time of canvassing the returns shall appoint a time 
and place for the first district meeting and shall post a written notice thereof 



30 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

ill at least three public places in each of the .several districts or subdistricts 
which compose the consolidated school district. 

2. A consolidated rural school district shall be deemed organized when any 
two of the officers elected at its first legal meeting file with the clerk of the 
meeting for canvassing returns, their written acceptances of the office to which 
they have been respectively elected, or when it has exercised the franchises 
and privileges of the district for the term of one year. A consolidated rural 
school district lawfully organized is a body corporate and possesses the usual 
powers of a public corporation, by the name and style of " Consolidated Rural 

School District No. of " (the town or village, as the case may 

be, in which the school is located or proposed to be located). Such numbers 
shall be designated by the board or boards in the order of the formation of 
consolidated rural school districts. The board shall make its contracts in its 
corporate name. 

3. When a consolidated rural school district shall be lawfully organized, the 
school districts or subdistricts out of which it shall have been formed shall 
cease to exist as school districts or bodies corporate, and the title to all property 
and assets of every nature of the several school districts and subdistricts out 
of which it was organized shall thereupon become vested in the consolidated 
rural school district, and all valid subsisting claims and obligations against and 
contracts of the said several school districts and subdistricts shall continue to 
be valid claims and obligations against them severally. All claims and obliga- 
tions arising after the formation of a consolidated school district shall be 
against the consolidated school district. The consolidated rural school district 
shall maintain and conduct the schools theretofore maintained and conducted 
by the several districts and subdistricts, until such time as the consolidated 
rural school district shall have purchased or erected and equipped a building 
in which school can be conducted. 

Consolidated rural school districts shall be entitled to and shall share in the 
distribution of the common school fund income and other school funds, in the 
same manner as school districts maintaining common and graded schools. In 
case a high school is maintained, the consolidated rural school shall be entitled 
to and share as in the case of union free high schools. 

Special State aid partially to defray the cost of erecting and equipping a 
school building shall be granted to consolidated rural school districts as 
follows : 

1. To a consolidated rural school district maintaining a school consisting of 
one department formed by the uniting of two or more school districts or sub- 
districts, one-half the cost, not to exceed $500 to any one school. 

2. To a consolidated rural school district maintaining a school consisting of 
a graded school of two departments, formed by the uniting of the schools of 
two or more school districts or subdistricts, one-half the cost, not to exceed 
$1,500 to any one school. 

3. To a consolidated rural school district maintaining a school consisting of a 
graded school of three departments, formed by the uniting of the schools of 
two or more school districts or subdistricts, one-half the cost, not to exceed 
$2,000 to any one school. 

4. To a consolidated rural school district maintaining a school consisting 
of a graded school of four or more departments, formed by the uniting of the 
schools of three or more school districts or subdistricts, one-half of the cost, 
not to exceed $3,000 to any one school. 

5. To a consolidated school district maintaining a school consisting of a 
graded school and a high school, formed by the uniting of all the districts and 



STATE LEGISLATION. 31 

subdistricts of a township, one-half of the cost, not to exceed $5,000 to any one 
school. 

All plans and expense accounts for additions to school biddings or for new- 
buildings shall be submitted to the State superintendent. No State aid shall be 
granted unless the State superintendent has approved the plans when thus 
submitted. 

(C) Wisconsin Special Aid to Assist in Providing Transportation to 

Consolidated Schools. 

The consolidated rural school district shall receive social aid for transpor- 
tation upon complying with the following conditions : 

1. Transportation shall be provided for at least 32 weeks. 

2. The average daily attendance of the pupils transported from any districts 
or subdistrict to any consolidated rural school or State graded school or free 
high-school district must be 80 per cent of the entire number enrolled for 
transportation during each term of school. 

3. Bach driver contracted with must be of excellent moral character, trust- 
worthy, and responsible, and must furnish a safe team witli a suitable and 
comfortable conveyance, well supplied with protection against stormy and 
inclement weather. 

It shall also be lawful for the electors to authorize the school board to 
enter into an agreement with the parent, guardian, or other person in charge 
of any pupil to compensate such parent, guardian, or other person, for trans- 
porting any pupil or pupils to and from school, and to enter into contracts for 
the transportation to and from school of all persons of school age who attend, 
and to levy a tax therefor. In all cases where the distance from the home of 
the pupil or pupils who are to be transported is 2 miles or less by the nearest 
traveled highway, the sum per pupil so paid shall be such as may be authorized 
by the electors ; and in all cases where the distance is more than 1 and less than 
2 miles, the State shall pay 5 cents per day, and where the distance is more 
than 2 miles, 10 cents per day for each pupil transported regularly to and 
from school in some reasonable and comfortable manner for a period of not 
less than five months. The school board or the town board of school directors 
and the principal teacher of the school in which such pupil is enrolled shall, 
on or before the 15th day of July of each year, make under oath a report 
giving the name and showing the distance and number of days each pupil was 
transported, the mode of transportation, and the total amount claimed by the 
districts on account of such transportation. 

(D) Laws Relating to Consolidation of Rural Schools in Minnesota (the 

Holmberg Act), 1011. 

Procedure for consolidation of school districts. — Two or more school districts 
of any kind may be consolidated, either by the formation of a new district or by 
annexation of one or more districts to an existing district in which is main- 
tained a State graded, semigraded, or high school, as hereinafter provided. 

A district so formed by consolidation or annexation shall be known as a 
consolidated school district. Before any steps are taken to organize a consoli- 
dated school district the superintendent of the county in which the major por- 
tion of territory is situated from which it is proposed to form a consolidated 
school district shall cause a plat to be made showing the size and boundaries 
of the new district, the location of the schoolhouses in the several districts, the 
location of other adjoining school districts and of schoolhouses therein, to- 
gether with such other information as may be of essential value, and submit 
the same to the superintendent of public instruction, who shall approve, modify, 



32 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPOKTINC PUPILS. 

or reject the plan so proposed ami certify his conclusions to the county superin- 
tendent of schools. To receive Stale aid as a consolidated school of Class A 
or Class B, as defined in this act, the consolidated district must contain not 
less than 18 sections, and to receive State aid as a consolidated school of Class C, 
not less than 12 sections; but any existing school district of at least such area 
shall have the rights and privileges of a consolidated school district. A con- 
solidated school district of less than 12 sections may be formed as herein pro- 
vided, but shall not be entitled to receive special State aid as herein provided 
for. (Sec. 1, ch. 207, 1911.) 

Duties of county superintendent. — After approval by the superintendent of 
public instruction of the plan for the formation of a consolidated school district, 
and upon presentation to the county superintendent of a petition signed and 
acknowledged by at least 2C> per cent of the resident freeholders of each district 
affected, qualified to vote at school meetings, asking for the formation of a 
consolidated school district in accordance with the plans approved by the super- 
intendent of public instruction, the county superintendent shall, within 10 days, 
cause 10 days' posted notice to be given in each district affected and one week's 
published notice, if there be a newspaper published in such district, of an 
election or special meeting to be held within the proposed district, at a time and 
place specified in such notice, to vote upon the question of consolidation. (Sec. 
2, ch. 207. 1911.) 

Election of officers. — At such meeting the electors, not less than 25 being 
present, shall elect from their number a chairman and clerk, who shall be the 
officers of the meeting. The chairman shall appoint two tellers, and the meet- 
ing and election shall be conducted as are annual meetings in common and inde- 
pendent districts. The vote at such election or meeting shall be by ballot, which 
shall read "For Consolidation" or "Against Consolidation." The officers at 
such meeting or election shall, within 10 days thereafter, certify the result of 
the vote to the superintendent of the county in which such district mainly lies; 
if a majority of the votes cast be for consolidation, the county superintendent 
within 10 days thereafter shall make proper orders to give effect to such vote 
and shall thereafter transmit a copy thereof to the auditor of each county in 
which any part of any district affected lies and to the clerk of each district 
affected and also to the superintendent of public instruction. If the order be 
for the formation of a new district, it shall specify the number of such district. 
The county superintendent shall also cause 10 days' posted notice and one 
week's published notice, if there be a newspaper published in such district, to 
be given of a meeting to elect officers of the newly formed consolidated school 
district: Provided, That a consolidated district shall upon its formation become 
an independent district, with the powers, privileges, and duties now conferred 
by law upon independent districts. After the formation of any consolidated 
school district appeal may be taken as now provided by law in connection with 
the formation of other school districts. Nothing in this act shall be construed 
to transfer the liability of existing bonded indebtedness from the district or 
territory against which it was originally incurred. (Sec. 3, ch. 207, 1911.) 

Consolidation with other districts. — In like manner, one or more school dis- 
tricts may Ite consolidated with an existing district in which is maintained a 
State high, graded, or semigraded school, in winch case the school board of 
the district maintaining a State high, graded, or semigraded school shall con- 
tinue to be the board governing the consolidated school district until the next 
annual school meeting, when successors to the members whose terms then 
expire shall be elected by the legally qualified voters of the consolidated school 
district: Proiided. however, That in the case of consolidation with a school dis- 
trict in which there is maintained a State high or State graded school, con- 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



SULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 6 




A. THE CEDRON (LA.) SCHOOLHOUSE. 
Built to replace 3 one-teacher schools. 




/?. MEDFORD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, MEDFORD, MINN. 
Formerly combining 6 one-room schools. Enrollment has more than doubled in three years. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 7 




A. A MOUNTAIN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL OF TWO ROOMS, CLAY COUNTY, KY. 




B. A SOUTH CAROLINA UNION SCHOOL, AIKEN, S. C. 



STATE LEGISLATION. 83 

solidation shall be effected by vote of the rural school districts only, in the 
manner provided under this act, and by the approval of such consolidation of 
the rural district or districts with the one in which there is maintained a 
State high or graded school, by the school board thereof. (Sec. 4, ch. 207, 19.11.) 

Certificate Vy officers. — The officers of the several districts forming a consoli- 
dated school district shall within 10 days from receipt of copy of the order 
of the county superintendent certifying the formation of the new district, or 
immediately after the election and qualification of members of the school board 
in the consolidated school district, turn over to the proper officers of the newly 
elected school board, or to the proper officers of the school board in the dis- 
trict maintaining the State high or graded school, all records, funds, credits, 
and effects of their several districts. ( Sec. 4, ch. 207, 1911. ) 

Powers of consolidated board. — For the purpose of promoting a better con- 
dition in rural schools and to encourage industrial training, including the 
elements of agriculture, manual training, aiid home economics, the board in 
a consolidated school district is authorized to establish schools of two or more 
departments, provide for tLe transportation of pupils, or expend a reasonable 
amount for room and board of pupils whose attendance at school can more 
economically and conveniently be provided for by such means, locate and ac- 
quire sites of not less than 2 acres, and erect and equip suitable buildings 
thereon, when money therefor has been voted by tbe district. They shall 
submit to the superintendent of public instruction a plat of the school grounds, 
indicating the site of the proposed buildings, plans and specifications, for the 
school building and its equipment, and the equipment of the premises. 

It shall be the duty of the superintendent of public instruction, with respect 
to schools in consolidated districts, to approve plans of sites, of buildings and 
their equipment, and the equipment of the premises, to prepare suggestive 
courses of study, including an industrial course, to prescribe tbe qualifications 
of the principal and other teachers, and through such supervisors as he may 
appoint and in connection with the county superintendent, exercise general super- 
vision over said consolidated schools. (Sec. 6, cb. 207, 1911.) 

Procedure for receiving State aid. — (1) For the purpose of receiving State 
aid, schools in consolidated districts shall be classified as A, B, and G. They 
shall be in session at least eight months in the year and be well organized. 
They shall have suitable schoolhouses. with the necessary rooms and equip- 
ment. Those belonging to class A shall have at least four departments, those 
of class B three departments, and those of class C two departments. The 
board in a consolidated school district maintaining a school of either class shall 
arrange for the attendance of all pupils living more than 2 miles from the 
school through suitable provision for transportation, or for the board and room 
of such as may be more economically and conveniently provided for by such 
means. 

2. The principal of a school coming under class A shall hold at least a diploma 
from the advanced course of a State normal school and be qualified to teach 
the elements of agriculture, as determined by such tests as are required by the 
superintendent of public instruction. A school of this class shall have suit- 
able rooms and equipment for industrial and other work, a library, and neces- 
sary apparatus and equipment for efficient work, and a course of study embrac- 
ing such branches as may be prescribed by the superintendent of public 
instruction. 

3. The principal of a school coming under class B or C shall hold at least a 
State first-grade certificate, and in other respects these schools shall comply 
with the requirements of schools under class A, so far as this may be practi- 

G1454 — 14 3 



34 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TKANSPORTING PUPILS. 

cable, iu accordance with requirements fixed by the superintendent of public 
instruction. Teachers other than the principal, including special teachers, shall 
possess such qualifications as are required of teachers in State graded schools. 

4. Besides maintaining schools in consolidated districts conforming to the 
requirements of those coming under classes A. B, and C. the school board may 
maintain otber schools of not more than two rooms and receive State aid for 
these as provided for semigraded and rural schools. (Sec. 7, ch. 207. 1911.) 

Aid for the various districts. — Schools under class A in consolidated districts 
shall receive annually State aid of $1,500; those under class B, $1,000; those 
under class C, $750; and in addition to such annual aid a school of any of the 
above classes shall receive an amount to aid in the construction of a building 
equal to 25 per cent of the cost of said building, but no district shall receive 
more than a total of $1,500 for aid in the construction of buildings. The annual 
aid and the aid for building shall be paid in the same manner as now provided 
by law for the payment of other State aid to public schools. Whenever any 
school in a consolidated district attains the rank of State high or graded school. 
it shall possess the rights and privileges of such school. (Sec. 8, ch. 207. 1911.) 

The above act providing a new law for the consolidation of schools 
went into effect April 18, 1911. It differs from the previous law 
chiefly in the following provisions: 

1. Petition for a vote upon consolidation is binding upon a district if signed 
by 25 per cent of the resident freeholders of the district. Under the former 
law a majority was required. 

2. Consolidation is now voted upon at one polling place for all districts peti- 
tioning and is carried by a majority of all the votes cast. The old law left 
each district petitioning to vote separately. 

3. The new law permits a district to receive aid under the law, provided it 
already possesses the requisite minimum area established for a consolidated 
district and complies with all the other requirements as to building, equipment, 
qualification of teachers, industrial courses, and transportation. 

4. It establishes the same standards for teachers in consolidated schools as 
for those in high and graded schools in villages and cities. 

5. It provides that principals of consolidated schools, in addition to meeting 
the regular professional requirement, must secure the special indorsement of the 
State superintendent as to fitness for the particular position sought. 

G. The new law requires the maintenance of instruction in agriculture, man- 
ual training, sewing, and cooking in every aided school. 

7. It authorizes the State superintendent to establish requirements as to 
building and equipment and also concerning transportation. 

8. Finally, the Holmberg Act provides for generous State aid, the purpose of 
which is to make it possible for rural communities to maintain for their children 
graded and high schools as good in every respect as those iu urban communities, 
and at no greater cost than that in such communities. 

(E) Summary of State Laws on Consolidation. 1 

Alabama. — (County.) No definite law on consolidation nor on transporta- 
tion. County boards of education have full power to fix boundaries of school 

1 The word in parentheses (county, township, or district* given after the name of each 
Slate indicates the unit of organization for the administration of the rural school affairs 
in the State. Where " district " is used, it refers to the single district, usually the terri- 
tory served by one school. Where two terms are used, it means that part of the State is 
on one basis, part on the other. 



STATE LEGISLATION. 35 

districts after holding a public hearing advertised three weeks in local papers 
and by posters in district affected. 

Arizona. — (District.) Two or more school districts may be consolidated into 
one district provided that 15 per cent of tbe school electors of each district 
present a petition to the county superintendent asking an election in each dis- 
trict and the majority of votes cast in each district is in favor of consolidation. 
Trustees of any district may call an election to determine whether transpor- 
tation shall be provided, and upon petition of 15 per cent of the school electors 
they must call such a meeting. Only children living at a greater distance than 
1 mile from the school may be transported at public expense. 

Arkansas. — (District.) An act to provide for the consolidation of adjacent 
districts was passed in 1911. The school directors in each district to be in- 
cluded in a proposed consolidation may, and upon the petition of 10 per cent 
of the school electors must, submit the question of consolidation to the electors 
of the district either in the annual meeting or in special meetings. The con- 
solidation is effected if the majority of voters of each district vote for con- 
solidation. The directors of the districts abandoned become the directors of 
the consolidated district until the regular annual election, when six directors 
are chosen at large from the new district. These directors are given full au- 
thority over the school and may provide transportation at the expense of the 
district if they deem it advisable to do so. 

California. — (District.) When a majority of the heads of families who re- 
side in two or more contiguous school districts and who have children attending 
school unite in a petition to the county superintendent for the formation of a 
union school district the superintendent must call an election in each district, 
to be held simultaneously. To effect the union the majority in each district 
must vote for it. If the vote is favorable to consolidation, each district elects 
one representative to a joint committee that, with the county superintendent, 
determines the location of the new union school or schools. If the board can 
not agree, then a general election is held to determine the site; only such sites 
as have been named by the district representatives may be voted upon. The 
representatives mentioned above constitute the union district board until the 
time of the annual meeting, when a regular board of trustees is elected. This 
board is composed of one person from each of the old school districts. It is 
given full control over the school or schools and may provide public transporta- 
tion at public expense in such manner as it may deem best. 

Colorado. — (District.) The school boards of two or more adjoining districts 
may, and upon the petition of not less than one-fourth of the qualified electors 
must, submit the question of consolidation to a vote of the qualified electors in 
each district. If the majority vote in each district is in favor of consolidation, 
a union meeting is held, called by the school board in the distinct with the 
largest school census, and a board of directors of three persons elected. These 
directors select the site for the consolidated school, erect the building, and 
manage the school. They may furnish public transportation to children living 
more than 1 mile from school. 

Connecticut. — (Township.) The town (township) school committee have full 
control of all schools in the town. " They shall maintain in these several towns 
good common schools * * * at such places * * * as in their judgment 
shall best subserve the interests of education. * * * They shall designate 
the schools which shall be attended by the various children within these several 
towns * * * and they may provide for the transportation of children wher- 
ever transportation may seem reasonable and desirable." 

Delaware, — (District.) The manner of forming a union of subdistricts is as 
follows: In each subdistrict a meeting is held, and the legal voters present 



36 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TKANSPOKTING PUPILS. 

vote for or against consolidation. If two-thirds of those present favor con- 
solidation, a committee of three voters is appointed to meet with similar com- 
mittees from the other districts and arrange the terms of consolidation. Each 
committee reports to an adjourned meeting in its district. If the report is 
accepted by a two-thirds vote of the voters present, it is obligatory. One dis- 
trict failing to accept the report does not prevent the others from uniting. 

Florida. — (County.) The county hoard of public instruction is given power 
" to locate and maintain schools in every locality in the county where they may 
be needed. - ' Schools may not be located nearer than 3 miles to each other 
unless for some local reason or necessity. 

Georgia. — (County.) The 1911 legislature provided that the county board of 
education in any county " shall have the right if, in their opinion, the welfare 
of the schools of the county and the best interests of the pupils require, to con- 
solidate two or more schools in the same or different districts into one school 
located as near the center of the new district as possible." They may also 
form new districts, including part only of existing districts. Should objection 
be made by as many as 10 of the patrons of any school to be affected by the 
consolidation, the county superintendent must call an election which shall de- 
termine by majority vote whether or not the consolidation will be made. The 
county boards may furnish public transportation to consolidated schools. 

Idaho. — (District.) The board of county commissioners may unite two or 
more contiguous districts upon petition of a majority of the heads of families, 
provided that the plan for the consolidated district has first been indorsed by 
the State board of education. The school trustees of any consolidated district 
may provide, out of the regular school funds, for the conveyance of pupils. 
Other large districts maintaining central schools may provide transportation 
at public expense. 

Illinois. — (District.) While the district is the unit of organization which 
holds the balance of power, some school administrative functions rest with 
the townships. Township trustees are elected whose principal duties concern 
finances and the regulation of the district boundaries. The township trustees 
may consolidate two or more districts when petitioned by a majority of the 
legal voters of the districts. 

Indiana. — (Township.) Whenever a majority of the legal voters of any 
school district petition the trustee or trustees for consolidation, it shall be 
the duty of the trustee to consolidate. No township trustee may abandon any 
district school in his township until he has procured the written consent of a 
majority of the legal voters in the school district. This does not apply to 
schools with an average daily attendance of 12 pupils or less. By State law 
a school whose average daily attendance during the year is 12 or fewer pupils 
is closed at the end of the year and the trustee must provide for the education 
of the pupils of the district in some other school. Transportation for all 
children living 2 miles or more from the school which they are to attend 
must be provided and also for pupils between the ages of 6 and 12 who live 
more than 1 mile from the school. The law requires the drivers of school 
wagons to furnish the teams and to maintain discipline while the children are 
in the wagons. 

Iowa. — (District.) When one-third of the electors residing in a contiguous 
territory containing not less than 16 sections petition for the establishment of 
a consolidated district, a public meeting must be held at which all electors in 
the proposed consolidated district shall be entitled to vote by ballot for or 
: gainst, consolidation. A majority vote is required to consolidate. A school 
board is elected at large from the new district. The school board is required 
to furnish suitable transportation to and from school. The school wagons 



STATE LEGISLATION. 37 

are not required to leave the public highway to receive or discharge occupants. 
Children living any unreasonable distance from school may be transported 
by parents or guardians to the school or to a school wagon route, and the 
school board is authorized to allow a reasonable amount of compensation for 
such transportation. 

To encourage the movement for consolidation a special State aid was pro- 
vided by the legislature of 1913. Under the provisions of this act three-room 
buildings receive from the State government $350 toward equipment and $500 
annually, provided they maintain departments for teaching agriculture, home 
economics, and manual trailing or other industrial subjects and employ teachers 
holding State certificates showing that they are qualified to teach such sub- 
jects. Four or more room buildings receive $500 for equipment and $750 
annually. 

Kansas. — (District.) The county superintendent may, when any two or 
more adjoining school districts have less than five pupils, combine the pupils 
of such districts in a single school. The district school board may call a 
meeting of any school district at the schoolhouse, or such a meeting must be 
called when 25 per cent of the voters petition for it, to vote upon a proposition 
of consolidation with other school districts. When two or more districts vote 
to combine the county superintendent designates a time and place for a union 
meeting for the purpose of electing a school board of three members for the 
new district. The district board of consolidated school districts must provide 
comfortable transportation for pupils living 2 or more miles from the school. 

Kentucky. — (County.) The county board of education, by act of the legisla- 
ture of 1012, is empowered to fix a boundary including a number of school dis- 
tricts, and to submit to the voters within that boundary the proposition of a 
tax sufficient to provide for consolidation of the schools within the boundary 
and for transportation of pupils. 

Louisiana. — (County.) The parish (county) board of education is authorized 
by law to determine the number of schools to be opened each year in the parish 
and the location of the schoolhouses. They may change the location of any 
schoolhouse whenever they see fit to do so. They are forbidden to maintain 
schools of less than 10 pupils. 

Maine. — (Township.) Any town (township) at its annual meeting, or at a 
meeting called for the purpose, may determine the number and location of its 
schools and may discontinue them or change their location, but such discontinu- 
ance or change of location may be made only on the written recommendation of 
the superintending school committee. Any school failing to maintain an aver- 
age attendance of at least eight pupils shall be abandoned at the close of the 
school year. . The superintendent of schools in each town shall procure convey- 
ance of all common-school pupils to and from school when such pupils reside at 
such distances from the school as, in the judgment of the superintending school 
committee, shall render such conveyance necessary. The school committee, how- 
ever, may authorize the superintendent of schools to pay for board and room 
at a suitable place near any established school instead of providing conveyance, 
when it can be done at an equal or less expense. 

Maryland. — (County.) The county board of school commissioners have gen- 
eral supervision and control of all schools in their counties. The law gives the 
board authority to consolidate schools when in its judgment consolidation is 
practicable and desirable, and to arrange for and to pay charges of transporting 
pupils to and from such schools. The board, however, can not close a school 
with a yearly average of 12 pupils or over without the consent of GO per cent 
of the patrons of the school. 



38 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Massachusetts.— (Township.) The town (township), at regular or special 
town meetings, determines the location of its schoolhouses. Money niay be 
appropriated at town meetings for the transportation of pupils to public schools; 
street cars and railroads are required to transport pupils to public schools at 
half the regular fare charged for other passengers. 

Michigan. — (District and township.) Authority to regulate the boundaries 
of schools districts is left with the township board which has general charge 
of all township affairs. This board may consolidate two or more districts, but 
not without the consent of a majority of the resident taxpayers of each dis- 
trict. In the upper peninsula, which is organized on the township basis, and 
in a few districts in the lower peninsula on the same basis, the township board 
of education is given power to locate the school buildings. When school build- 
ings are so located that some children live an unreasonable distance frorn the 
building, transportation may be provided. 

Minnesota. — (District.) Two or more school districts of any kind may be 
consolidated, either by the formation of a new district or by annexation of 
one or more districts to an existing district in which is maintained a State 
graded, semigraded, or high school. The plan must be first approved by the 
State superintendent of public instruction ; it is then voted upon by the free- 
holders of each district affected. The board of education of the consolidated 
district may provide for the transportation of pupils or may expend a reason- 
able amount for room and board of pupils whose attendance at school can 
more economically and conveniently be provided for by such means. (See 
p. 31.) 

Mississippi. — (County.) The county board of education fixes the boundaries 
of school districts. No regular district school can be erected with less than 45 
children of school age. If the attendance at any school in a district is less 
than 5, the school must be discontinued by the county superintendent at the 
end of the month. The county board of education may consolidate schools 
whenever it sees fit, and it is empowered to provide means of transportation 
for pupils living 2 miles or more from the school. On petition of the majority 
of the qualified electors of a consolidated school district containing not less 
than 25 miles square, a special tax may be levied on the property of the dis- 
trict to pay the cost of transportation. The consolidated schools have all the 
privileges granted to separate school districts. 

Missouri. — (District.) The school code has provided for consolidation for sev- 
eral years, but comparatively little has been done. In the 1913 legislature the 
Buford-Colley consolidation law was passed. This provides that when the 
resident citizens of any community desire to form a consolidated school, a 
petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters of said community shall be filed 
with the county superintendent. The county superintendent is then required 
to inspect the community and determine the exact boundaries of the proposed 
consolidated district. He then calls a special meeting of all the qualified 
voters of the proposed consolidated district, at which a vote is taken by ballot 
to determine whether or not the consolidation shall be effected. A majority 
vote of those present, regardless of the subdistricts in which they live, is all 
that is required to adopt the consolidation. 

Transportation may be voted upon at the same meeting. If it is not provided, 
the board of directors of the consolidated district must maintain an elementary 
school within 2| miles of every child of school age in the district. Special 
State aid, equal to $25 per year for each square mile in the area of the consoli- 
dated district, is provided. 

Montana. — (District.) Two or more school districts may be consolidated, 
either by the formation of a new district or the annexation of one or more 



STATE LEGISLATION". 39 

districts to an existing district. Whenever the county superintendent of schools 
receives a petition signed by a majority of the resident freeholders of each 
district affected, asking for consolidation, he holds an election in each district, 
to vote for or against consolidation. A majority vote in each district is neces- 
sary to carry the measure. The trustees of any school district in the State 
of Montana, when they deem it to be for the best interests of all pupils, may 
expend school money for the transportation of children to public schools. 

Nebraska. — (District.) A school distinct may be discontinued and its terri- 
tory attached to other adjoining districts by the county superintendent, upon 
petition signed by half the legal voters in each district affected. 

" Suppose districts Nos. 1. 2, 3, 4 of a certain county desire to consolidate 
with district No. 5. Separate petitions must be circulated in each of these dis- 
tricts 1, 2, 3, 4, asking to be discontinued and to have its territory attached to 
district No. 5, which district shall retain its own number. Four separate peti- 
tions must also be circulated in district No. 5 ; one asking that the territory in 
district No. 1 be attached to district No. 5; one asking that the territory in dis- 
trict No. 2 be attached to district No. 5; one asking that the territory in district 
No. 3 be attached to district No. 5; and one asking that the territory in district 
No. 4 be attached to district No. 5. The consolidated district shall take the 
number of the said district No. 5. the new district not only becoming invested 
of the property rights of the old, but also answerable for their debts. The 
county superintendent is given large discretionary power. However, he can not 
refuse to change the boundaries of a school district when asked to do so by peti- 
tion signed by two-thirds of the legal voters of the district affected." 

Any district board of any school district in the State of Nebraska, when au- 
thorized by a two-thirds vote at any annual or special meeting, may make pro- 
vision for the transportation of pupils. The 1913 legislature has provided spe- 
cial State aid to assist in maintaining a school term of at least seven months. 
Such aid shall be given, however, to no district containing less than 12 sections 
of land for each school maintained. No district formed after the passage of 
this act may receive State aid under its provisions unless it contains at least 
20 square miles of territory. 

Nevada. — ■( District.) The board of county commissioners in any county, 
upon the recommendation of the State deputy superintendent of public instruc- 
tion and without formal petition, may enlarge the boundaries of any school dis- 
trict, wherein there may be uncertainty of maintaining the minimum require- 
ments of five census children, sufficiently beyond the 16-miles-square limit to 
include five or more census school children, and upon recommendation of the 
deputy superintendent, may consolidate two or more school districts or parts 
of districts into a single district. When such consolidation is effected the 
deputy superintendent appoints a board of trustees and determines the location 
of the school. 

On the recommendation of the deputy superintendent, the boards of school 
trustees of any contiguous school districts may, in joint meeting of the two 
boards, unite the two districts and establish a union school to be supported 
out of the funds belonging to the respective districts. The school is governed 
by the two boards. 

New Hampshire.— (Township.) The township boards are required to provide 
schools at such places as will best subserve the interests of education. They 
may use a portion of the school money, not exceeding 25 per cent, for conveying 
pupils to and from schools. Any town may raise money for the purpose of 
purchasing transportation wagons. 

New Jersey. — (Township.) The township board of education determines 
where schools shall be located. Two townships may consolidate into a single 



40 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

district upon majority vote of the legal voters in each district. A board of 
education representing each district is selected. 

New Mi-rico. — (District.) No school district may be created with less than 
•_'."> children of school age. The county superintendent is required to consolidate 
school districts on the presentation of separate petitions signed by a majority of 
electors residing in the respective districts affected. 

Whenever I lie number of children of school age has been reduced below 15 in 
any district, the superintendent is empowered to disorganize the district and 
attach the territory to an adjoining district. Appeal may be made to the board 
of county commissioners from the decision of the county superintendent on the 
change of boundary lines. 

New York. — (District.) The 1913 legislature made the following provisions 
for consolidation: Two or more common-school districts may be created as one 
district, or a common-school district and a union free-school district may be 
created as a union free-school district by a majority vote of the qualified elec- 
tors in the districts affected. Whenever 10 or more electors of each of the dis- 
tricts affected sign a request for a meeting to be held for the purpose of de- 
termining whether such districts shall be consolidated, the trustees must call a 
meeting at which there must be present at least 10 qualified electors of each of 
the districts affected. If a majority of those present vote in favor of consolida- 
tion, the measure is adopted, and the district superintendent issues an order 
consolidating the districts. 

North Carolina. — (County.) The county board of education divides the town- 
ships into convenient school districts. The board is prohibited from establish- 
ing new schools in any township within 3 miles of schools already established, 
Or from creating a school district with less than 05 children, unless such dis- 
trict contains at least 12 square miles of territory. It may form a school dis- 
trict out of portions of two or more contiguous townships. It is authorized to 
consolidate two or more school districts into one district and to secure facilities 
for transporting children to school. The daily cost of transportation, however, 
can not exceed the daily cost per pupil of providing a separate school in a sepa- 
rate district. 

North Dakota. — (Township and district.) The boards of education, whether 
district boards or township boards, are authorized to organize, maintain, and 
conveniently locate schools under the following regulations: Each board must 
call a meeting of the voters of the district to decide by vote upon the question 
of the selection, purchase, or sale of school sites and schoolhouses. If the dis- 
trict, whether a single district or a township district, maintains more than one 
school, the schools may be consolidated by action of the voters of the district. 
At the same meeting it is determined by vote whether or not pupils shall be con- 
veyed at public expense to the school. The election may be called by the board 
on their own volition or upon the presentation of a petition signed by one-third 
of the voters in the district. Two or more separate adjacent districts may unite 
on the majority vote of each district. 

The State legislature of 1913 defined consolidated schools and divided them 
into first and second class schools. It provided also special State aid according 
to the grade of the school. (See p. 28.) 

Ohio. — (County, with township and village subdistricts.) The Ohio school 
laws, adopted In 1911, provided that the township and special school districts 
existing at the time the law was passed shall constitute rural school districts 
until changed by the county board. A district may be dissolved and joined to a 
contiguous rural or village district by a majority vote of each district. 

The question of centralization of the schools within a district may be brought 
before the people by the district board of education in three ways — upon its 



STATE LEGISLATION. 41 

own volition; upon the receipt of a petition signed by at least one-fourth of the 
voters of the district ; upon the order of the county board of education. A ma- 
jority vote carries the question. A vote to dissolve the consolidation can not be 
legally held for three years. If a meeting votes not to consolidate, the question 
can not be legally voted upon again until two years have elapsed. 

When the average daily attendance of any school for the year falls below 12 
the district board of education must provide for the transportation of the pupils 
to another school for the following year. 

In all rural and village districts free transportation must be furnished* for 
;ill children living 2 miles or more from the school. It may be furnished for 
pupils living nearer than 2 miles upon the option of the school board. Children" 
may be required to walk J mile to meet the school wagons. 

Oklahoma. — (District.) Meetings of the voters of any two or mure adjacent 
school districts may be called in their respective districts to vote upon providing 
a consolidated school. A majority of the votes in each district must be in favor 
of the movement before consolidation shall be effected. The district board of 
directors are required to furnish transportation for all pupils living 1£ miles 
or more from the school. 

Pennsylvania. — (Township.) The school code adopted in 1911 provides that 
the township boards of school directors may consolidate public schools in their 
districts. They must, however, provide in all rural districts free transportation 
of pupils living li miles or more from the school. An :ict passed April 13, I'.ni, 
provides as follows : 

That whenever graded schools can be made to accommodate the pupils of ©lie 
or more ungraded schools by consolidating such ungraded school or schools with 
another school, either graded or ungraded, it shall be the duty of the school 
directors to abandon the one-room school or schools, and, instead of rebuilding 
or repairing the one-room sehoolhouse or schoolhouses, they shall erect a suit- 
able modern building for the purpose of consolidating and properly grading all 
of the said schools: Provided, That no pupils of the abandoned schools shall be 
required to walk more than 1£ miles to the new school building. 

Oregon. — (District.) Consolidation is effected by the majority of votes of 
the school electors in each district to be included in the proposed consolidation. 
The district school board of any legally organized district shall, when author- 
ized by a majority vote of the legal voters of the district, furnish transporta- 
tion to pupils living more than 2 miles from the school building. However, in 
their discretion they may pay the board of any pupil at any suitable place near 
the school, instead of providing conveyance, when it can be done at an equal 
or less expense than by conveyance. Any district may vote to suspend its school 
And transport children to another district if it sees fit to do so. 

Rhode Island — (Township.) The school committee of any town (township) 
may, with the approval of the State commissioner of public schools, consolidate 
any schools the average number of pupils belonging to each of which is less than 
12. Each town in town meeting may determine to erect additional school 
buildings or to consolidate existing schools. In case any town consolidates 
three or more ungraded schools and maintains a graded school of two or more 
departments with not less than 20 pupils for each department, the State will 
pay to such town .$100 annually for each department. Town school committees 
are authorized to provide transportation at public expense. 

South Carolina. — (County.) The 1912 legislature provided $15,000 State aid 
to encourage the movement for consolidation in country districts. To receive 
the benefit of this act, a rural district must levy and collect a school tax of 
not less than 4 mills, employ at least two certified teachers for a school term 
of not less than six months and have an enrollment of not fewer than 50 pupils 
and an average daily attendance of not fewer than 30 pupils who must be 



42 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

taught in ;i building approved by the State department of education. It may 
receive $200 per year. If the district employs tliree teachers and has an en- 
rollment of To pupils with an average daily attendance of not less than 40, it 
may receive State aid amounting to $300 per year. 

School districts may be consolidated by the county board of education upon 
the petition of at least one-third of the qualified voters of the district proposed 
to be consolidated. School trustees of a consolidated district receiving State 
aid, under legislative enactment mentioned above, may use such funds to pay for 
transportation if they desire to do so. 

South Dakota. — (District.) School districts may be combined into single 
township districts by the county commissioners upon the receipt of a petition 
signed by the majority of electors of the districts. A township board of educa- 
tion is then appointed and schools may be consolidated. The 1913 legislature 
provided that if two or more adjacent school districts wish to consider consoli- 
dation, the county superintendent is required to make a map of the proposed 
consolidated district, showing the location of the schoolhouses in the several 
districts, the proposed location of the new school, the location of transportation 
routes, and submit the same to the State superintendent for approval or re- 
jection. When the plans have been approved, the county superintendent, pro- 
vided that he has a petition signed by at least 25 per cent of the voters of each 
district, calls a public meeting at which a vote is taken for or against consolida- 
tion. If three-quarters or more of the votes cast ask for consolidation, the 
vote carries. 

The board of education of the consolidated school district is authorized to 
provide for the transportation of pupils, and is required to transport pupils 
living a greater distance thau 2 miles from the school. Instead of providing 
transportation, the board may make arrangements with the parent, guardian, 
or other person, to transport such children as may live more than 2 miles from 
the school. Children shall not be required to walk more than five-eighths of a 
mile from their homes to the transportation route. 

District boards of education as well as boards of consolidated districts are 
permitted to furnish transportation or may pay to the parent, guardian, or 
pupil a certain sum of money in lieu of transportation. For pupils residing 
more than 2| miles and less than 3 miles from the schoolhouse, the guardian 
or pupil shall receive from his school district 10 cents per day for each pupil ; 
if more than 3 miles and less than 4 miles. 20 cents per day ; if more than 
4 miles and less than 5 miles, 30 cents per day; if more than 5 miles, 40 cents 
per day. If there are two persons in the same family, the rate per day is less. 
No township or district may expend more than $S0O for transportation in one 
year. Whenever children of school age reside in a territory not organized into 
a school district, the county commissioners shall pay their tuition and trans- 
portation to some school in an organized district. In lieu of transportation 
they may expend a reasonable amount for room and board of such pupils. 

Tennessee. — (County.) P>y act of the legislature in 1913 the county board 
of education is given full power and authority to consolidate two or more 
schools and to furnish transportation to pupils who live too far to walk to 
school. Special State aid is given to consolidated schools of three or more 
teachers. 

Texas. — (District.) The county superintendent has power to close the school 
in any district with less than 20 pupils of scholastic age and consolidate with 
an adjoining district. The county commissioners' court may, at any time 
they deem necessary, consolidate two or more adjacent school districts. The 
county high-school board of education, by and with the consent of a majority 



TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 43 

of all trustees in each common-school district affected, may consolidate any 
number of common-school districts to establish a high-school district. The 
high-school district becomes a consolidated district in every sense of the word. 
The old districts cease to exist, and the schools may be closed and the children 
transported to a centralized school maintained in connection with the high 
school. 

Utah. — (District and county.) In the counties organized on the district 
basis, the board of county commissioners has power to. consolidate schools. In 
counties organized on the county basis the county board of education has full 
power to locate schools wherever it wishes. It may sell present school sites 
and provide consolidated schools in its discretion. 

Vermont. — (Township.) The township board of school directors are au- 
thorized to locate schools wherever they deem best. They may provide con- 
veyance of pupils at the expense of the town or may pay, in lieu of transporta- 
tion, a reasonable sum for the board of pupils while attending school. A 
special State appropriation is divided among the towns furnishing transporta- 
tion to pay part of the expenses of the conveyance of pupils to public schools. 

Virginia. — (Magisterial district.) The magisterial district board is given 
power to locate schoolhouses wherever it deems advisable, provided the site, 
location, plans, and specific;'.! ions are approved by the division superintendent 
of schools. The board is also authorized to provide consolidated schools and 
public transportation. The boards are directed by the State board of educa- 
tion in the published regulations of the State board " to use their best influence 
in preventing a multiplicity of schools, particularly of small ungraded rural 
schools, and to urge wherever possible the consolidation of small schools into 
larger schools with two or more teachers." 

Washington. — (District.) Upon a petition signed by five heads of families 
of two or more adjoining districts in the same county, the county superintendent 
may organize and establish a consolidated school district. Consolidated dis- 
tricts receive special State aid. In apportioning State funds, the consolidated 
district is credited with 2,000 days' attendance in addition to the actual at- 
tendance for each district, less one, so consolidated. (See p. 27.) 

West Virginia.— -(Magisterial district.) Magisterial boards of education may, 
upon the petition in writing of 75 per cent of the voters of the subdistricts 
affected, abolish any such subdistrict and consolidate the school or schools 
therein and provide for the conveyance of pupils. 

Wisconsin. — (County.) Two or more school subdistricts may be consolidated 
by a favorable vote of each district affected. State aid is given for assisting in 
providing suitable buildings, also for providing transportation. (See p. 29.) 

Wyoming. — (District.) The county district boundary board may at any time 
annex the territory of a school district having less than eight pupils to a con- 
tiguous district. The same board may also unite two school districts upon the 
petition signed by the majority of the voters in the districts affected. 



III. TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 

Authority is given to school officers by the State legislatures in at 
least 43 States to expend public funds for the transportation of chil- 
dren to schools, provided the children live outside of a reasonable 
walking distance. Such authorization is necessary before large con- 



44 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

solidated districts can be established. Consolidated districts of from 
9 to 12 square miles may be established without transportation. 

The regulations fixed by the States are given in brief in the section 
of this publication beginning on page 34. In certain States trans- 
portation at public expense is permissive only, in others obligatory. 
Ohio, for instance, requires free transportation to be furnished to all 
children living 2 miles or more from the school. Children living 
nearer may be conveyed free at the option of the school board. In 
Missouri free transportation must be provided to children living 2^ 
miles or more from a school. Colorado school districts may furnish 
free transportation to children whose homes are H miles or more 
away. The consolidated district boards of Kansas must furnish 
transportation to children 2 miles or more from school, those of Okla- 
homa to children 11 miles or more from school. Pennsylvania pro- 
vides that u no pupils of abandoned schools shall be required to walk 
more than H miles to the new school building." 

The details of transportation are of extreme importance, for the 
consolidated school to which children are conveyed in school wagons 
or in public carriers can not be satisfactory unless the transporta- 
tion itself is satisfactory. This is well stated by the Indiana State 
superintendent of public instruction in a chapter on consolidation 
in his annual report for 1912. 

The great objection which must be met in consolidating our rural schools 
is transportation. Many parents object, and with good cause, to the fact that 
tbeir children are transported too great a distance and that they are compelled 
to leave home too early in the morning and are returned too late in the even- 
ing. This demonstrates that the unit of consolidation is too large. A read- 
justment of the consolidated area should be made, and the pupils affected 
should be transi>orted a reasonable distance. In rural communities where 
good roads can not be maintained throughout the year the people must be 
content with the district school. Where the unit of consolidation is not too 
large transportation of pupils has made attendance larger, more regular, and 
eliminated tardiness. Transportation has been a great aid to the health of 
the children. They are not compelled to walk through the rain and in the 
mud, wearing wet shoes all day. In the majority of places where we have 
consolidation the school officials have been very careful to get responsible men 
as drivers of the school wagons. Consequently, the pupils are under the care 
of some responsible person all day, and the girls are protected on the way to 
and from school and the boys influenced from the temptation to quarrels and 
cither misconduct. 

The success of the consolidated school depends in very large measure upon 
transportation. If the transportation is safe, comfortable, rapid, and in 
charge of men of high character, no troubles result from it. When men of 
low ideals are in charge of transportation or when transportation is slow, or 
when the distance is too great, then certain evils are at once seen, and just 
complaint is made against the consolidated schools. These evils, however, are 
all remediable. If the people demand drivers of high character they can be 
secured. If the officials insist upon rapidity of transportation that too can be 
done. None of these evils in any way affect the real work of consolidation. 



TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 45 

(a) THE DETAILS OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRANSPORTATION. 

Transportation routes. — Usually the school wagon follows a defi- 
nite route and children meet it on the route. The wagons are re- 
quired to run on schedule and leave fixed points at set times. In 
a few cases wagons go to the homes of the children. Ohio requires 
the wagon routes to be arranged so that no child will have to walk 
more than one-half mile to take the wagon ; South Dakota, so that no 
child will have to walk more than five-eights of a mile. Iowa pro- 
hibits the wagons from leaving the public highways to receive or dis- 
charge occupants, and provides that children living " unreasonable ' 
distances from schools or wagon routes may be transported by 
parents or guardians, who receive compensation for so doing. 

While the wagon is the usual form of conveyance furnished at 
most schools, many children are transported in all parts of the 
country bv steam railroads or electric roads. In Massachusetts and 
California, and undoubtedly in other States, automobile busses are 
coming into use. In Virginia, on one route, a gasoline launch is 
used. 

Payment to parents in lieu of transportation. — The plan of allow- 
ing parents or guardians a certain amount per day for providing 
conveyance for their own children is in operation to a certan extent 
in many States. It is probably the only plan feasible in sparsely 
settled districts, and where roads are very poor. In such cases 
children journey to school in buggies, on horseback, or on bicycles. 
Often the school furnishes a shed for the horses. The amount 
allowed parents in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and a few other States 
are given on page 34 et seq. 

The plan has several advantages and several disadvantages. Its 
principal advantage is that children ride from their own homes to 
the school by the most direct route and, as a rule, in less time than 
would be taken by a school wagon. One of the principal disad- 
vantages is the expense. It does not require a larger expenditure of 
school funds, but the total expended by the school patrons is much 
greater. A large amount must be invested in horses and vehicles, 
and stabling and feed for the horses provided. If the children them- 
selves drive, the horse is not available for other work on school days. 
Another disadvantage is that it does not assure the regularity of 
attendance and the freedom from tardiness resulting from the use 
of transportation wagons, or of public electric or steam railroads. 

The driver. — Among those who have had experience with trans- 
portation in school wagons and in public carriers, the sentiment 
seems to be much in favor of the wagon when properly managed. 
The trip in the steam or electric car is made more quickly and in 
greater comfort, but the conduct of the children on public carriers 



46 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

is not always as satisfactory as in school wagons where competent 
drivers are employed. The children recognize the right of the 
school directors to dictate their conduct while they are riding on 
wagons owned or leased by the school and driven by men or women 
who have the same authority over them as is held by their teachers. 
When riding in public carriers, children, as a rule, feel that they are 
outside the authority of the school directors. 

Satisfactory transportation is obtained only when competent 
drivers are employed. Great care must be taken to select drivers who 
are trustworthy, temperate, careful, and whose words will be re- 
spected and obeyed. In some instances, older schoolboys living near 
the end of the route drive the wagons, keeping the teams in the 
vicinity of the school during the day. The plan is seldom satis- 
factory. In many cases wagons are driven by women, particularly 
during the busy seasons on the farm. In bad weather their places are 
taken by their husbands. The arrangement is usually satisfactory. 
The use of a farm teamster or " hired man " is not to be recommended. 
Whenever a parent of one or more of the children transported is em- 
ployed the service is usually satisfactory. E. M. Phillips, State 
rural school commissioner of Minnesota, says: 

The cost in consolidated schools, as shown in the reports for the year 1911-12, 
is surprisingly small, averaging only $40 per month per driver. It is entirely 
probable that next year's reports will show a higher average salary for drivers. 
It may reach $50 per month. The practice of employing schoolboys to drive 
is a dangerous one. A few near accidents as the result of this practice will 
teach boards to do away with it entirely. It pays to employ responsible 
drivers. It pays to dismiss promptly any driver found to be unreliable in any 
particular. 

The wagon. — Another essential for satisfactory transportation is 
comfortable wagons. They must be well built, strong, safe, and 
warm. They must be covered and equipped with side curtains to 
keep out wind and storm. Glass sides are much better than curtains, 
as the children are not then sitting in semidarkness, and in addition 
they can see the country as they pass along. It results in better con- 
duct. The best wagons are built so that the drivers sit inside with 
the children. They are then in the position to require proper con- 
duct and conversation on the part of the boys and girls under their 
charge. In cold weather the floor is covered with rugs or with straw, 
and lap robes are provided. Often wagons are heated by coal or oil 
stoves placed sometimes inside and sometimes outside under the 
wagons. Footstones or planks of hardwood are sometimes used, 
being heated by parents at their homes in the morning and again 
on the school stove for the return trip. Artificial heat, however, is 
unnecessary except in extreme cold or on long routes. 

On account of the importance of providing good wagons, it is 
becoming almost a general practice for school authorities in many 



TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 47 

States to purchase wagons, hiring only the drivers and teams. In 
Minnesota the State department of education, in awarding State aid 
to consolidated schools, makes as a condition the use of wagons built 
according to specifications furnished by the department. These 
specifications call for a closed wagon with curtain sides, and glass in 
front and rear, the driver riding inside with the children. They 
designate the materials that may be used, also the size and weight of 
the wagon. Doors must be provided at both ends, and the front 
wheels must " cut under." 

As evidence of the importance of proper wagons and drivers the 
following from the Carnegie Foundation Report on Education in 
Vermont is given : 

In places where transportation has not been satisfactory the difficulty is often 
due either to the driver or to the conveyance. Parents charged that a rough 
boy driver had taught their boys to smoke, and tolerated and even encouraged 
disorder. Older drivers were sometimes intoxicated. Satisfaction almost 
always follows when a driver is either a father or a mother of some of the 
children. A second source of difficulty is the type of wagon or sleigh used. 
Wagons may be so crowded that the children are uncomfortable. * * * 
Sometimes other loads also are carried, and the children are made to walk up 
hills and over bad roads. Sometimes sufficient blankets are not supplied. The 
greatest satisfaction has been experienced with the " school barges " purchased 
by some of the towns. For fall and spring these are spring wagons with top 
and sides curtained for protection from rain and sun. The seats extend along 
the sides and are cushioned. For winter use there are sleighs with closed tops. 
In none of those observed was there provision for heating, but the drivers had 
often procured soapstone or pieces of hardwood, which they heated over the 
school stove and placed at the feet of the pupils on their way home. These 
same objects were heated in the homes of the pupils in the morning and used 
on the way to school. 

The following also in reference to Vermont, but not from the re- 
port just quoted, is further evidence : 

It is gratifying to report that several towns during the past biennium have 
purchased barges specially constructed for the conveyance of school children. 
In consecpience the opposition to consolidation in those towns has been greatly 
reduced, as parents in general are not so much exercised over the question of 
transportation as they are over the kind provided. The experience of those 
towns which have provided proper and comfortable conveyance ought to be 
suggestive to the towns which have not so provided. 

Transportation and the roads. — Transportation is, of course, much 
easier in a district with good roads than in one with bad roads, and 
there is much road in the country so bad that transportation of 
school children is impossible during certain seasons of the year. 
However, if the roads are good enough for the children to pass over 
on foot they are passable for wagons, and the wagons would bring 
them to the school with dry feet and clothes. In muddy and wet 
weather many children who walk to school over bad roads are re- 
quired to sit with Avet feet during the day. 



48 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The large number of wagons used in all parts of the country, 
and over all sorts of roads, is the best evidence that the consolidated 
school with public transportation may be established in a section 
with poor roads. Mr. J. B. Eggleston, formerly State superin- 
tendent of Virginia, speaking of the success of transportation in 
that State, says: 

During the fifth year (11)12) of this policy we have over 200 wagons run- 
ning in all sections of the State and under almost every possible condition. 
We have routes as long as S miles and as short as 2i miles. We have wagons 
on good roads and bad roads, on level roads and mountain roads, on rocky roads 
and sand roads, on macadam roads and red-clay roads. We have transportation 
wagons of the latest and most modern type, and we have ordinary farm-wagons 
fitted up for the new and precious freight. We have one-horse and two-horse 
wagons, and in one instance we have a four-horse transportation wagon, or 
" kid cart,'' as it is called, which hauls between 45' and 50 children to school 
every day. 

The Minnesota commissioner of rural schools says: 

For a considerable period of years, too, children have been successfully trans- 
ported in this State, in widely separated portions, under road and weather 
conditions about as favorable and about as unfavorable as the State affords. 
Personal investigation of the situation has shown that transportation in Minne- 
sota is entirely practicable and generally satisfactory. 

Nothing stimulates good-road building like the necessity for road travel. 
Consolidation has fairly intoxicated communities with a zeal for road building. 
Some districts still have very poor transportation routes; but many miles of 
load previously impassable in wet seasons have already been put in good con- 
dition, and the good work will be taken up again with the next open season. 
In a word, poor roads can be made into good roads and this transformation 
will be made with promptitude where transportation of school children is in 
vogue. 

An interesting statement made in a bulletin on consolidation, 
published recently by the University of Illinois, follows : 

It is a singular fact and one that escaped notice until very recently that trans- 
portation has been long practiced in all parts of the country ; and when men 
are showing, as they suppose, conclusively that transportation of children is 
impossible on account of " bad roads " and " stormy weather " they will find, 
if they look about, that it has been going on silently for years all about them. 

A good proportion of the young men and women in the village and small city 
high schools everywhere come from the surrounding country, and a large share 
of them drive or ride to and from school every day. In one instance a family 
of four young men, all graduated from the city high school, driving 7 miles and 
back daily. This was over the "mud roads" of central Illinois. In this same 
small city the nonresident tuition has more than paid the superintendent's 
salary for the last 30 years. Supt. Kern reports that the farmers .of Winne- 
bago Couuty alone have paid over $30,000 tuition in the city schools in the last 
10 years. 

In one city in central Illinois as many as seven vehicles come into town over 
a single road every day bringing children to school. In this instance the livery- 
men were obliged to make additions to their stables "on account of the horses 
bringing children to school." 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 8 




A. TRANSPORTATION WAGONS, SHELBY CO., TENN. 




B. WINTER TRANSPORTATION AT KIRKSVILLE, MO. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 9 




A. AUTOMOBILES USED TO TRANSPORT PUPILS, BRAWLEY SCHOOL, IMPERIAL 

COUNTY, CAL. 




B. TRANSPORTATION WAGONS, WHITE RIVER, RANDOLPH COUNTY, IND. 





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TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 49 

On the basis of facts like these it is folly to maintain that transportation 
is impossible. Transportation is a fact, a well-settled practice already, though 
it is done at private expense, which is the most costly way imaginable. It is 
not too much to say that the horses now engaged in carrying young men and 
women to the village high school in all sorts of conveyances are fully enough, 
if doubled up and attached to suitable vehicles, to carry all the children of 
the same territory to a central school. Transportation is a fact. Shall we 
enjoy its full fruits in a rational system of country schools? 

The success of transportation. — The success of furnishing trans- 
portation seems to be universal wherever properly handled. An 
interesting study made in Connecticut by the secretary of the State 
board of education is reported in his annual report for 1913. 

The expense per pupil for conveyance to elementary schools in 
Connecticut for 1911-12 was $23.69 for the school year of 184 days. 
The total number of children conveyed was 3,481 ; the total expendi- 
ture, $82,465.97. This does not include $42,968.83 paid for the trans- 
portation of high-school pupils. The elementary children were trans- 
ported by school Avagons, trolley cars, steam railroads, and by pri- 
vate conveyances. In many cases parents are paid a certain amount 
per day in lieu of transportation. 

The report mentioned gives for each township in the State the 
number of elementary school children transported, the cost for the 
year, and whether or not the transportation is, on the w T hole, satis- 
factory to the parents and beneficial to the schools. There are 120 
townships in the State that reported children transported. Of these, 
8 failed to report on the last item. The others reported as follows : 

Satisfactory to parents and beneficial to schools 95 

Unsatisfactory to parents but beneficial to schools 9 

Unsatisfactory to parents and not beneficial to schools 4 

Unsatisfactory to parents and no report whether beneficial or not— 4 

Concerning one town in which one school was closed and the four 
children in attendance conveyed during the four winter months to 
a central school, it is stated that the sentiment in the community is 
" that it would be better if this school were not closed." No reason 
is given. 

In another case where two children formerly attending a school 
which had been closed are conveyed by a parent, the plan is unsatis- 
factory because "the parent wants more money." In a third case 
13 children are transported. It is reported unsatisfactory because 
" isolated families are expensive to transport and the parents expect 
too much for transporting their children." A fourth case, where 64 
children are conveyed, it is reported as generally satisfactory, "ex- 
cept for complaints of some parents of the boisterousness of large 
boys in wagons." In a fifth case, where 9 children are transported 
by the parents, it is reported not satisfactory, but no reasons are 
61454°— 14 4 



50 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

assigned. Three rases, where 42, 50, and 113 children, respectively, 
are transported by trolley and wagons, report "hardly satisfactory" 
in one school and " not entirely satisfactory " in two. Another case 
reports that it is not satisfactory in one district. Another reports 
that it is satisfactory, but the expense of transportation is growing 
and becoming a burden; another that the plan is satisfactory to 
parents but " not beneficial " to school ; k * would not close any school 
if there w T ere eight pupils." 

Prof. A. B. Graham, at the head of the agricultural extension serv- 
ice of the Ohio State University, recently made a study of the satis- 
faction to school patrons of transportation to Ohio consolidated 
schools. He states that — 

SO per cent of the parents report that their children attend more regularly 

under transportation than they did previously. 
00 per cent report their children more interested in school than before. 
05 per cent think their teachers show more interest in their work. 
100 per cent practically agree that the social and educational interests <»f the 

township consolidated have greatly improved. 
75 per cent of those who were formerly opposed to consolidation and transpor- 

tation are now in favor of it. 

Miss Mabel C. Williams, superintendent of Shelby County, Tenn.. 
writes as follows: 

The transportation of pupils in public-school wagons has proved to be a 
great success in Shelby County. The system was instituted five years ago. We 
now have 15 wagons running, with petitions for many more as soon as we can 
build the consolidated schools. It would be impossible to persuade the pupils 
who ride in the wagons to leave the consolidated schools and go back to the one- 
teacher or two-teacher schools from whence they came. The parents and 
teachers appreciate the greater advantages which the large school offers. We 
find that the attendance is better on the wagon routes, as the children do not 
have to consider the weather. Only one child has ever been hurt on the wagons, 
and that was not serious. We have carried as many as 50 in one wagon. I do 
not remember that we have ever had a complaint of drunkenness, profanity, 
tardiness, or carelessness on the part of the wagon drivers. In fact, most of the 
trouble which is anticipated from the adoption of the public-school wagon never 
happens. 

(fi) COST OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. 

The cost of transportation varies in the different States. At the 
Montague consolidated school the total number of children trans- 
ported in 1912-13 was 84, at a total expenditure of $1,559.82, or ap- 
proximately 10 cents per pupil per day. Each driver received on an 
average $1.70 per day or $312 per year, and carried an average of 17 
children. The shortest route is 2 miles, the longest 4.5 miles. The 
drivers furnish their own wagons and teams. This is about the 
average amount paid in Massachusetts. 

In Indiana in 1912 children were transported to 589 consolidated 
schools, in 1,446 school wagons and 532 other vehicles, including 



TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 51 

steam and electric cars. The cost of the regular wagons was $2.24 
per day, the average route being 4.5 miles in length. Tippecanoe 
County, Ind., transported 1,000 children to 67 schools at an average 
cost of 15.7 cents per pupil per day, or $2.34 per wagon per day. In 
the 13 townships of the county the cost ranges from 9.8 cents to 20.7 
cents per day for each child. 

Louisiana in 1910-11, the last year that figures are available at 
this time, transported 5,151 children in 249 wagons, at $38 per wagon 
per month, or $2.58 per child per month, or 13 cents per child per 
school day. 

In Vermont there was paid in 1911-12 the sum of $128,962 for pub- 
lic transportation and for board of pupils in lieu of transportation. 
The average number of children transported was 4,490, making the 
annual cost per child per year $28.72, or approximately 18 cents per 
day. The State appropriates $20,000 annually, which is apportioned 
among towns expending school money for transportation of elemen- 
tary school pupils. 

In Washington State the total number of pupils transported in 
1910 at public expense was 1,855. There were 96 wagons used, the 
average cost being $2.61 per wagon per day and $23.75 per pupil per 
year, or approximately 15 cents per day. The total expenditure for 
public transportation in the State was $44,523. 

Cost Data fob Typical States. 

Tippecanoe County, Ind., 19.12. 

Consolidation began 1890 

Transportation at public expense began 1900 

Number of district schools 45 

Number of consolidated schools 20 

Number of wagons used 67 

Number of pupils transported 1, 000 

Cost per wagon per day $2. 34 

Cost per child per day cents__ 15. 7 

The cost per child per day varies from 9.8 to 20.7 cents. 

Minnesota, data for 1911-12. 

Children transported at public expense to consolidated schools 911 

Total cost of transportation $20, 870 

Cost per child per year $21. 70 

Cost per child per day cents__ 14.5 

Iowa, data for school year 1911-12. 

Children transported at public expense to consolidated schools 1. 643 

Number of school wagons 03 

Total cost of transportation $34, 607 

Cost of transportation per child per year $20. 70 

Cost of transportation per wagon per year $372 



52 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Louisiana. 

Number of consolidated schools 

Number to which children are transported at public expense 

Number of wagonettes 

Number of children transported 



210 

141 

249 

5,151 

Average cost per wagon per. month $37.97 

Average number of children per wagon 16.27 

Average cost per child per month $2.58 

Average cost of wagonettes $146.00 

From H i< ilia in'* study <if consolidated schools of four townships in northeastern 

Ohio {1911). 

Total cost of transportation $12,034 

Number of children conveyed S02 

Cost per child per year ' $15 

Cost per child per day 1 cents__ 9 

A consolidated school in Larimer County, Colo. 



Routes. 


Miles for 
first child 

to ride. 


Monthly- 
salary of 
driver. 


Number of 

children in 

wagon. 


l 

2 


1 

f 
4.', 
2| 

5* 
3 1 


$49 
40 
50 
40 
37 
55 
44 



24 
23 
25 
24 
22 
25 
20 


3 


4 


6 







There were seven wagons; the average monthly salary of the driver was 
$45; and the transportation cost per pupil per day was 9 cents. 

Consolidation of schools and transportation of pupils in Shelby County. Torn. 



Names of consolidated schools. 


Salary of 
driver. 


Distance 
traveled 
(miles). 




S60. 00 
60. 00 

50. 00 
50. 00 
40. 00 
49. 75 
40. 00 

49. 75 
55.00 
55.00 

50. 00 
49.50 
49.50 
GO. 00 
44.50 


5 

4 

4 
4 
5 
3 
5 
• 3 
3 
3 
4 
4 
5 
4 






Cuba 



























TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND COST. 
Transportation, Madison, County, Tenn. 



53 



Names of consolidated schools. 



Pope 

Pope 

Pope 

Malesus 

Pinsen 

Center Point 
Spring Creek 



Salary of 
driver. 



850. 00 
40.00 
40.00 
25.00 
25.00 
40.00 
40.00 



Distance 
traveled 
(miles). 



(c) CONTRACT WITH DRIVER. 

The following form contract is in use in Randolph County, Ind. 
Contract fob Hauling School Children. 



Route No. 



Township. 



Contract entered into on 19__, between , 

party of the first part, and , trustee of 

school township of Randolph County, Ind., party of the second part. 

The party of the first part (for the sum named below to be paid by the party 
of the second part) agrees to perform the following work: To drive the school 
wagon on route No. in school township of Ran- 
dolph County, Ind., and haul all the children of school age now residing and 
adjacent to said route (or who may be along said route during the life of this 
contract) to and from the school, according to the following schedule. The said 
schedule to be as follows unless changed by the trustee: 



Commencing at the — 


Standard sun. 


Returning. 


Standard sun. 
























. 






















- 




Thence to the School 




Leaving School at 




arriving at. 









Said work is to be governed by the following conditions: 

1. The said school township is to furnish the wagon to be 

used and keep it in repair. 



54 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TBANSPOKTING PUPILS. 

2. The said party of the first part is to furnish, keep, and feed all the horses, and 
furnish harness, necessary to haul the wagon on the said route, without any expense 

to the said school township, other than the pay agreed upon 

for the party of the first part in this contract. 

(here insert condition as to stable) 

3. The party of the first part is to have control of all the school children so hauled, 
to and from school, to keep order and maintain discipline while in the wagon or along 
the route, and to treat all children in a gentlemanly and civil manner and to see that 
no child is imposed upon or mistreated while in his charge, and shall use every care 
for the safety of the children under his charge. All school hacks shall come to a full 
stop immediately before crossing steam or electric railways and the driver shall ascer- 
tain positively as to the approach of any danger. The party of the first part hereby 
agrees to prevent the use of tobacco in any form, by himself or any other person upon 
the school wagon while under his charge. 

4. The party of the first part is to drive the wagon and take the children along the 
route every day that school is in session during the school year of 19 and 19 

5. The party of the first part shall inform the parents of the school children as to 
the time he will arrive at the place where the children are to take the school wagon 
each morning, so that the children can be ready to get into the- wagon with the least 
possible delay. He shall wait a reasonable length of time for the children in case 
they are not ready when the wagon arrives in the morning, but he will not be required 
to so wait over two minutes. Said party of the first part is to use as many horses as 
necessary to haul the wagon on the schedule as laid down in this contract. The party 
of the first part is to personally perform all the said work as laid down in this agreement, 
unless permission for a substitute be given by the trustee, who shall designate who 
such substitute shall be. This contract shall not be assigned to another person to 
perform without the written consent of the said township trustee, as party of the second 
part, and to be so written upon the back of this contract. The party of the first part 
is to wash and clean up the wagon at end of term and place it in the school barn, or 
elsewhere, as directed by the trustee without extra compensation. 

6. Party of the first part hereby agrees to make all reports called for by the 
trustee or anyone authorized by the trustee to call for them. 

7. The party of the second part hereby agrees to pay the party of the first 

part the sum of dollars ($ ) per day for every day such work 

is performed. Pay for such work can only be drawn each month during school 
term or at the end of the term, or on the same plan and terms as with the 
school-teachers if the trustee so desires. 

8. The willful violation of any of the provisions of this contract shall be 
cause for its forfeiture. 

9. In case anything should arise not named or covered by this contract, the 
matter shall be adjusted by the township trustee, whose decision shall govern 
all parties concerned. 

To all of the above we do hereby agree in every particular by signing our 
names on this, the day of 19__. 



Party of the First 1'art. 



Trustee of School Township, Randolph County, ind., and 

Party of the Second Part. 



COST OF CONSOLIDATION. 55 

IV. COST OF THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 

Experience in consolidated schools proves conclusively that the 
cost of education per child per day in such schools as a rule is much 
less than in one-teacher schools, provided that largely increased 
salaries are not paid to the teachers in the consolidated schools. 
The consolidated school may be, and usually is, made more expensive, 
due to the fact that consolidation follows an educational awakening: 
which demands not so much centralization of buildings as the edu- 
cational advantages made possible through centralization: Longer 
terms, better equipment, trained teachers, supervising principals, 
and the addition of high-school grades. 

In studying data, therefore, of comparative costs of consolidated 
and nonconsolidated schools, consideration must be taken of work 
done by the consolidated schools that is not done by the others. The 
following data give representative figures from various States. 

Cost of small schools in Tennessee and North Carolina. — That the 
cost of the small one-teacher school is extreme is well understood. 
Recent studies in Tennessee and North Carolina have been made on 
the cost of small schools, the schools being grouped according to the 
number of pupils. The average cost per child per month, based on 
the average daily attendance, in Tennessee in 1912 was as follows : 

In 672 schools with from 1 to 15 pupils each $3. 02 

In 7S7 schools with from 16 to 20 pupils each 2. 14 

In 864 schools with from 21 to 25 pupils each 1.90 

In 1.056 schools with from 26 to 30 pupils each 1. 52 

In the elementary schools of 13 representative cities of the State the 
average monthly cost per pupil based on the average daily attendance 

was 1. 27 

The average cost per child per month for teaching only, based on 
the average daily attendance, in North Carolina was as follows: 

In schools of from 1 to 12 pupils, inclusive $2.56 

In schools of from 13 to 15 pupils, inclusive 2.03 

In schools of from 15 to 20 pupils, inclusive 1. 55 

In schools of from 1 to 20 pupils, inclusive 2. 07 

Cost of teaching per pupil per month, based on the average daily attend- 
ance in the elementary schools of 16 North Carolina cities 1. 33 

Comparative cost of tuition in Ioioa. — The following, taken from 
the " Report of the State Superintendent of Iowa for 1912," includes 
data on the cost of consolidated schools in that State as compared 
with neighboring nonconsolidated schools. It must be remembered 
that the consolidated schools, as a rule, gave further advanced work 
than was given by the small schools : 

The following data, tabulated from the reports of the county superintendents 
for the year ending June 30, 1911, show some interesting facts concerning the 



56 



CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 



comparative attendance, cost per pupil, etc.. as represented by the average for 
all the rural schools, not consolidated, in the counties given and the consoli- 
dated schools. The average daily attendance is higher and the average cost 
of tuition is lower on account of the better attendance in consolidated districts 
than in districts maintaining small schools. 

Comparative cost of consolidated and of nonconsolidated schools in Iowa. 



Washington County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Crawfordsville consolidated schools 
Mitchell County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Mclntyre consolidated schools 

Marshall County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Albion consolidated schools 

Dickinson County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Terrel consolidated schools 

Emmet County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Armstrong consolidated schools 

Dolliver consolidated schools 

Clay County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Lake consolidated schools 

Webb consolidated schools 

Story Count}': 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Feruald consolidated schools 

Winnebago County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Buffalo consolidated schools 

Buena Vista County: 

Nonconsolidated schools 

Marathon consolidated schools 

Newell consolidated schools 

Truesdale consolidated schools 







Attendance. 


Average 
number 
months 
of school. 


Number 
of hacks. 






Per cent 
of enu- 
meration. 


Per cent 
of enroll- 
ment. 


7.6 
9.0 




47 
81 


69 

85 


5 


7.8 
9.0 




44 
60 


68 

78 


9 


8.2 

9.0 




52 
69 


66 
81 


4 


8.0 

8.0 




53 
57 


61 

79 


8 


8.4 
9.0 
9.0 




53 
63 
61 


67 
77 
79 


4 
4 


8.2 
7.0 
9.0 




52 
71 
56 


61 
72 
69 


8 
4 


7.8 
8.0 




54 
67 


65 

79 


3 


6.7 
9.0 


6 


41 

66 


62 

78 


s.o 

9.0 
9.0 
7.2 




46 

6i 

60 
56 


72 
84 
80 
66 


6 
4 
4 



Average 
cost of 
tuition 

per 
month. 



$2.99 
1.77 

3. 37 
2.04 

3.88 
2.53 

3.59 
1.80 

3.13 
2.82 
3.65 

3.66 
1.93 
2.73 

3.23 
2.73 

3.48 
1.94 

3.73 
1.88 
2.34 
3.29 



Cost of consolidated schools in Illinois. — The following table rela- 
tive, to Illinois consolidated schools was compiled by the State super- 
intendent of public instruction in 1912. It not only gives the cost of 
maintaining the consolidated schools, but also shows the number add- 
ing high-school departments and the introduction of courses not 
practicable in district schools. It will be noted that 23 districts, with 
653 children enrolled, had been consolidated into 8 districts, with 940 
enrollment, while only 30 teachers were employed in the 8 districts 
to do the work done formerly in the 23 districts, and in addition 
to give the instruction in 8 high-school departments, 4 of which give 
full four-year courses, 2 three-year courses, and 2 two-year courses. 
It may be noted also that in 5 of the 8 schools agriculture, manual 
training, and domestic science are generally taught. The 8 schools 
enrolled 287 more pupils than the schools replaced. 97 of whom 
were tuition pupils from outside the consolidated districts. 



COST OF CONSOLIDATION. 57 

Illinois consolidated schools — Tabulated report of county superintendents. 



Number of d is tricte consolidated. 

Number of sections of land in 
district 

Assessed valuation 

Tax levy, for maintenance 

Tax levy, for build in? 

Kate of tax per .$1,000 for mainte- 
nance 

Total tax before union 

Cost of new building 

Number of teachers 

Number of pupils 

Number of pupils before union 

Number of tuition pupils 

Number of years in high school 

Is agriculture taught 

Is domestic science taught 

Is manual training taught 

Ts the school better than before. . 

Are pupils transported 

Are pupils satisfied 



John 
Swaney 
School, 
Putnam 
County. 



3 

16.5 
172, 9S1 
$4,200 
82, 200 



$2. 30 

82, 000 

$14,000 

4 

93 

48 

27 

4 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 



Scott- 
land 
School, 
Edgar 
County. 



10 

$153, 140 
S3, 300 
SI, 000 

$1. 47 

$2,991 

$5, 000 

3 

63 

52 

8 

2 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 



Seward 
School, 
Winne- 
bago 
County. 



12 

$194,152 
$2. 400 



$1.43 

$900 

$6, 000 

4 

125 

79 

22 

3 

No. 

No. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 



District 

115, 
Wood- 
ford 
County. 



14 

$123, 264 

$5, 300 



$4. 30 

$1, 275 

$10, 000 

3 

104 

85 



4 
Yes. 
Yes. 
Yes. 
Yes. 
Yes. 
Yes. 



Hinds- 

boro 
School, 
Douglas 
County. 



8151,920 
$5, 500 



$3.65 

$1, 700 

$14,000 

5 

186 

100 

20 

4 

No. 

No. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 



Garrett 
School, 
Douglas 
County. 



6 

$119,665 

$5, 800 



$4.90 

$3, 275 

$10, 500 

4 

103 

75 

6 

3 

Yes. 

No. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 



Bun- 
comb 

School, 
John- 
son 

Countv. 



$62, 020 
$1,600 



82.35 



$4,500 

3 

166 

152 

10 

2 

No. 

No. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 



Harlem 

School, 
Winne- 
bago 
County. 



18 

$487, 3fc5 

$3, 700 

$800 

$0.95 

81,600 

817, 700 

4 

100 

62 

4 

4 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 



Cost of consolidated schools in Indiana. — The most complete study 
of the relative cost of consolidated and nonconsolidated schools is 
that of the State department of public instruction of Indiana, the 
results of which are published in the report of the State superin- 
tendent for 1912. This gives data by counties, comparing all con- 
solidated schools in each county with the nonconsolidated schools. 
The expenditures for maintenance of the two groups are given in 
the following table, which has been compiled from those given in the 
State report. The per capita cost is based on average daily attend- 
ance. The data for consolidated schools include expenditures for 
high-school departments, since the majority of such schools main- 
tain grades above the elementary schools, and data are not available 
for the elementary and secondary departments separately. 

Cost of consolidated and nonconsolidated schools in Indiana. 





Consolidated 

(high-school 

departments 

included). 


Nonconsoli- 
dated (no 
high schools). 


Number of schools 


589 
31,314 


6,962 

85,583 


Average daily attendance 




Total cost: 

Fuel 


$69, 348 
42, 945 
67,191 

881,624 


$244, 254 

155,465 

82, 705 

2, 624, 833 










Transport ation 


1,061,108 
477,110 


3, 107, 257 


Total 






1,538,218 


3, 107, 257 





58 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Cost of consolidated and noncoasolidatcd schools in Indiana — Continued. 





Consolidated 

(high-school 

departments 

included). 


Nonconsoli- 

dated (no 

high schools). 


Per capita cost based on average daily attendanc3: 

Fuel 


S2.21 
1.37 
2.15 

28.16 


J2.85 




1.82 




.97 


Teachers 


30.67 








33.89 
15. 23 


36.31 






Total 


49.12 


36.31 







The total cost in the consolidated schools, not including transpor- 
tation, was $33.89 per child ; in the district schools, $36.31. Includ- 
ing transportation the cost per child in the consolidated schools was 
$49.12. 

A study of the above figures shows the cost of schooling per child, 
when the expense of transportation is not included, to be $2.42 
greater in the district schools than in the consolidated schools, show- 
ing that the district schools are not as economical, as far as the cost 
of education itself is concerned, as the consolidated schools. When 
the transportation is included, however, the consolidated schools cost 
$12.81 more than the district schools. This looks very high; how- 
ever, we must keep in mind that the educational opportunities given 
by the consolidated schools and by the district schools do not cor- 
respond in any respect. The consolidated schools were maintained 
approximately 20 days longer during the year than the district 
schools; they employed better teachers at higher salaries, and in 
each building a principal is employed who devotes part of his time 
to supervising the work of the other teachers in the building. In 
many cases the principals are men, where under the old plan few 
men were employed. Furthermore, practically all of these consoli- 
dated schools maintain high-school departments, whereas before 
the consolidated schools were established there were few high schools. 
The per capita cost in high schools is always much greater than in 
elemental' v schools. 



V. EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Consolidation is considered usually for the purposes either of 
securing better educational facilities or of decreasing the cost of 
maintaining schools. The second of these has been discussed in the 
preceding section. Some of the educational advantages of the con- 
solidated school will be presented in the following sections. Much 
space, however, will not be taken for the subject, since it is generally 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 59 

recognized that the consolidated school does offer many educational 
opportunities that the one-teacher school can not offer. Progress in 
consolidation is slow, not because these advantages are not under- 
stood, but because the difficulties connected with transportation 
seem unsurmountable to those without experience, and also be- 
cause there is a strong sentiment for the old one-teacher schoolhouse 
in sight of every home. There is also a fear on the part of the 
property holders that property values will decrease with the re- 
moval of the local school. 

The question of transportation has already been considered. 
Sentiment for the " old school " is praiseworthy, but it ought not to 
interfere with the establishment of a better school if a better school 
can be obtained. A school should be located within sight of every 
home, provided there are enough children to maintain it. Presi- 
dent John Adams said, in 1785, " There should not be a district of 
1 mile square without a school in it." There might be a general 
agreement if President Adams referred only to areas included 
within city limits. 

A depreciation in land values with the removal of the local schools 
to a central school has never occurred as far as information has been 
obtained. Reports from all sections of the country are to the con- 
trary; where good central schools have been established land values 
have risen, not only adjacent to the new school but through all the 
territory served by the school. 

M. B. Hillegas, in speaking of consolidation and land values in 
Vermont wherever consolidation has been effected, says, in the Car- 
negie report on education in Vermont : 

It has often been feared that the closing of a rural school would tend to 
lower the value of the adjacent property, but in no place where consolidation 
was in successful operation was this argument considered valid. 

Mr. R, F. Gaither, principal of the Mays Lick (Ky.) consolidated 
school, in a recent article concerning the school, says: 

Three and a half years ago Mr. James Kirk bought a 173-acre farm near the 
school known as the O. W. Williams farm at $107 per acre. A year and a half 
ago Mr. Kirk sold to Mr. Eli Williams 10 acres of this land at $125 an acre ; to 
Mr. T. B. Robertson 30 acres, at $110; and to Mr. James Slattery 50 acres, at 
$110. Mr. Kirk has been offered $155 per acre for the remaining 83 acres and 
is holding the price at $160 per acre. The man who gave us the above facts 
said that he knew that the increase in value was due to the Mays Lick con- 
solidated school. This is only one case out of many that we could cite to 
show that consolidation has increased property values in this district. 

Supt. Eaton, in his report on the Concord consolidated school, 
mentioned in the first pages of this bulletin, said : 

The apprehension of the owners of real estate that a depreciation of values 
would result if the local schools were closed have proved to be groundless. 



60 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

(a) RITUAL SUPERVISION. 

One of the great educational advantages of the consolidated school 
comes through the possibilities of increased supervision without ad- 
ditional expenses. The city schools of the United States are effi- 
ciently supervised on the whole. Practically all cities of 4,000 popu- 
lation or over employ school superintendents, and many of those 
under 4,000 as well. The 18 largest cities of the country in 1910 
were employing one supervising officer giving half or more than half 
of his time to supervision to every 10 teachers. Outside of New Eng- 
land and New York the rural supervising officer is the county super- 
intendent, and in only a comparatively few counties are assistant 
superintendents or supervisors employed. Under average condi- 
tions a county superintendent can not visit his schools more than once 
in a year, and then the visits must be short. In many counties it is 
a physical impossibility on account of the size of the counties, the 
poor roads, the numl)er of schools, and the length of the term, for 
the superintendent to visit all schools each year. Thirteen States 
have found it necessary to enact legislation requiring the county 
superintendent to visit his schools at least once each school year. 

A recent study made in Tennessee from data concerning every 
county superintendent shows: 

(1) That the average county superintendent spends 40 days annually visiting 

schools, or about two-fifths of the annual session; 

(2) That he visits, on the average. 2.4 schools per day; 

(3) That he spends, on the average. 2 hours and 10 minutes at each school: 

and 

(4) That he gives, on the average, I hour and 50 minutes to supervising each 

school in his county during the session. 

A study made in North Carolina shows similar conditions. From 
data taken from the reports of 14 county superintendents it appears: 

That the average number of separate schools per county superintendent in 
these counties is 106; 

That the average number of days given to visiting schools during the entire 
year of school (1909-10) by each superintendent was approximately 53; 

That the average number of different schools visited per day by each superin- 
tendent was 2.2 ; 

That the total average amount of supervision given by each superintendent to 
each school in his county during that entire school year was only 1 hour 
and 54 minutes. 

These counties may be considered as fairly representative of the 
entire State in the efficiency of the superintendents, in the number of 
separate schools, in their geographical area, in their economic condi- 
tions, and in the density and sparsity of their population. 

Much of the superintendent's time is lost in traveling from one 
school to another. This time is saved with consolidation. Further 
supervision comes with the employment of a supervising principal of 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 61 

the consolidated school. A school large enough to require several 
teachers is large enough to require the services of a competent prin- 
cipal not only to manage the entire school but to supervise the work 
of his assistants as well. 

(b) CLASSIFICATION OF PUPILS. 

In the ideal school children are grouped in classes, each class con- 
taining as nearly as possible children of the same degree of advance- 
ment. In the ordinary one-teacher schools there are not enough chil- 
dren of the same degree of advancement to form classes large enough 
for the inspiration coming from class work and the friendly rivalry 
between pupils. There is no one to " measure up against." It is in 
the class that the mind of the child comes in contact with those of the 
other children and of the teacher. There he gets the ideas of the 
other pupils and learns to see things not from his own narrow view- 
point, but from a viewpoint made up of the combined experiences of 
the entire class. The class work in the class of from 1 to 5 children 
is not interesting. In classes of from 8 to 20 it is interesting. Boys 
and girls enjoy going toe school more; they "do" better and they 
attend more regularly, because of their greater interest. Attendance 
at consolidated schools, even where transportation is not furnished, is 
as a rule better than at the old district schools. 

The following, taken from the report of the State superintendent 
of Indiana, written by one of the county superintendents who has 
had much experience with consolidated and nonconsolidated schools, 
is the result of his observation : 

A pupil should have a great deal of competition in his class work in order 
to develop the best that is in him. Competition creates enthusiasm, and cer- 
tainly this is lacking in a class of 1 or 2 pupils. A teacher can teach a class 
of from 6 to 12 pupils much easier and accomplish a great deal more "than 
can be accomplished in a class of 1 or 2 pupils. Consolidated schools with 150 
pupils have few more classes than there are in a one-room school of 25 pupils. 
By combining 6 such schools, the work is easily done by 4 teachers, giving* 
three times as much better service at the same time. 

(c) DIVISION OF TIME BETWEEN STUDY AND RECITATION. 

The State supervisor of rural schools of Tennessee recently made 
an inquiry relative to the time devoted to study and to recitation in 
his State in country and city schools. He reports as follows : 

Assuming that the teacher actually teaches six hours during the day, and 
allowing no loss of time in changing from one recitation to another, we find 
* * * that the average length of time allotted to each recitation in schools 
with — 

From 1 to 15 pupils in daily attendance is 14 minutes. 

From 15 to 20 pupils in daily attendance, 13 minutes. 

From 20 to 25 pupils in daily attendance, 13 minutes. 

From 25 to 30 pupils in daily attendance, 12 minutes. 



62 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

We find the number of recitations per day to be, in schools having a daily- 
attendance of — 

From 1 to 15 pupils, 24. 
From 15 to 20 pupils. 2(5. 
From 20 to 25 pupils. 28. 
From 25 to 30 pupils. 28. 

Average number of daily recitations per teacher in the elementary schools 
of 13 representative cities of the State 8 

Average length of time, in minutes, allotted to each recitation in these 
city schools S3 

Average length of school term, in days, in these cities 3 80 

Average number of daily recitations per teacher in country schools having 
from 1 to 20 pupils in daily attendance 26 

Average length of time, in minutes, allotted to each recitation in these coun- 
try schools 33 

Average length of school term, in days, in the country schools 9® 

A study made previously in North Carolina by the State super- 
visor gives the following: 

From data taken from the reports of 23 county superintendents that may 
be considered fairly representative of the State from the etaadporat of effi- 
ciently organized rural schools, it will be seen that the average number of 
daily recitations per teacher in schools having — 
From 1 to 12 pupils in daily attendance is 2-~>. 
From 12 to 15 pupils in daily attendance, 20. 
From 15 to 20 pupils in daily attendance, 27. 
Assuming that the teacher actually teaches six hours during the day, and al- 
lowing for no loss of time in changing from one recitation to the other, the 
average length of time allotted to each recitation in schools of — 

From 1 to 12 pupils in daily attendance is less than 15 miuutes. 

From 12 to 15 pupils in daily attendance is less than 14 minutes. 

From 15 to 20 pupils in daily attendance is less than 13 minutes. 

Average number of daily recitations per teacher in the elementary schools 

of 16 representative cities of the State 8 

Average length of time, in minutes, allotted to each recitation in these 

cities 2S 

Average length of school term, in days, in these eities 173 

Average number of daily recitations per teacher in country schools having 

from 1 to 20 pupils in daily attendance 2<i 

Average length of time, in minutes, allotted to each recitation in these 

country schools 13 

Average length of school terms, in days, in these country schools 80. 8 

The typical one-teacher rural school of the United States has 
28 to 32 pupils representing eight different years of advancement; 
from 26 to 32 recitations are conducted each day, the recitation periods 
averaging 10 to 14 minutes in length. Each pupil studies, as a rule, 
four subjects, reciting four times a day. He spends about one-eighth 
of his school day, or approximately 45 minutes, in recitation, and 
seven-eighths, or 4 hours and 4.") minutes, in study (or in idleness or 
mischief). The teacher gives most of her time to hearing recita- 
tions. She has little time for teaching. 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 63 

In the typical city school the pupil spends approximately one-half 
of his time in study and one-half in recitation. The recitation 
periods are from 20 to 40 minutes in length, depending upon the 
ages of the pupils. The teacher has time, therefore, to draw out 
from each pupil for the benefit of the class what each has got from 
his study. Pupils interpret what they study in terms of the ex- 
periences in their own lives. The recitation should bring to each 
the benefit of the experiences of the others. This can not be done 
in a short period. 

The excessive time allotted to study in the rural school, in propor- 
tion to the time given to recitation, is one of the objectionable fea- 
tures of the school. Few rural schools have sufficient, proper, and 
profitable reading material to give to the pupils during this long 
period. Few pupils can spend profitably the time in study because 
in the short recitation period the teacher has no time to direct ex- 
tensive study. Some pupils, those with a large amount of the right 
kind of native ability, do well under the arrangement; the majority 
do not. Those who succeed do so in spite of the arrangement rather 
than on account of it. 

Consolidation of schools makes fewer classes to each teacher, and 
consequently makes longer recitation periods possible. If four one- 
teacher schools with eight grades in each are brought together into 
one school and four teachers retained, each would have but two 
grades instead of eight, and the pupils would devote one-half of 
their time to recitation and one-half to study, instead of one-eighth 
to recitation and seven-eighths to study as in the old schools. 

(d) VITALIZING THE SCHOOL WORK. 

The ordinary teacher in the one-room country school can teach 
little but reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, and a 
little history, on account of the difficult conditions under which she 
is working. It is, however, very desirable that music, drawing, 
sanitation, manual training, household arts, and agriculture be 
taught, both for their general culture and their utilitarian values, 
and also for their value as vitalizing agents in the school curriculum. 
For instance, agriculture properly taught is probably as educative 
as any other school subject. It is also a vocational subject and has 
a practical value in making better farmers. It is likewise a " living " 
subject to most boys and girls; it is a part of their lives, and on and 
about it as a foundation their academic subjects may be based. The 
same may be said relative to the household sciences and arts. The 
one-teacher school can give little agricultural work or little domes- 
tic science; all the subjects mentioned above, however, may be taught 
in a school of three or more teachers. 



64 l CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Further discussion concerning the teaching of these subjects is 
given later in this bulletin, particularly under the articles on the 
Harlem and the Mays Lick consolidated schools. 

(e) high-school courses. 

In almost every case consolidated schools are giving courses two 
to four years longer than the schools replaced. High schools near 
enough home for the children to live at home can be had for country 
children in no other way. In rural sections served by one-teacher 
schools pupils must be sent away from home for their high-school 
education, if they are to receive any, usually to the nearest town or 
city, where the education they receive draws them away from country 
life and their homes and people, and the cost is usually prohibitory 
except to the well to do. In a great many rural school districts par- 
ents of high-school pupils are paying in car fare, board, and tuition 
far more than enough to support a good high school at home. When 
the benefits of a high-school course are appreciated, and when it is 
understood that often great injury is done to many boys and girls by 
sending them away to city schools during the years when they need 
most the influence of their fathers and mothers and their homes, then 
much greater efforts will be made to provide high schools at home. 

Consolidated schools of any size are seldom found without high- 
school departments. Iowa reports -17 consolidated schools, in all of 
which except four high-school departments are organized. Kansas 
reports 75 consolidated schools; ''many of these schools have estab- 
lished high-school courses." 

In the report of the Indiana State superintendent of public instruc- 
tion for 19T2 is the following statement relative to high-school de- 
partments in consolidated schools: 

Possibly one of the greatest results accomplished by the consolidation of the 
rural schools is the establishment of the township high schools. Students who 
could not have entered a high school had they been compelled to leave home, 
attend these schools, and, in most cases, graduate from them. Consolidation 
has made it possible for the child of the rural district to be under the direct 
control of the home throughout its elementary and high-school training. Many 
children in our consolidated schools who do not care to even enter a high school 
while they are working in the grades, and some who have no home encourage- 
ment for entering high school, become interested in the high-school work by 
observing the enthusiasm manifested by their classmates in their hope of enter- 
ing and completing the course as prescribed for these high schools. The con- 
sequences are that many children of the above-named class graduate from a 
good commissioned high school when they would otherwise have failed to com- 
plete the elementary schools had it not been for the consolidated school. The 
great increase of students attending the high schools in Indiana in the last two 
years is due in great part to the work of consolidated schools. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 11 




A. INTERIOR FARM MECHANICS BUILDING, SNOHOMISH CONSOLIDATED 

SCHOOL, WASH. 




B. SCHOOL GARDEN, POULTRY HOUSE, AND FARM MECHANICS BUILDING, 
SNOHOMISH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, WASH. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



SULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 12 




A. AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS AND FLOWER BED, SNOHOMISH CONSOLIDATED 

SCHOOL, WASH. 





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B. CLASS IN COOKING, SNOHOMISH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, WASH. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 13 




A. PLOWING CONTEST. HARLEM CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, ROCKFORD, ILL. 




B. TESTING MILK FROM NEIGHBORING FARM. AGRICULTURAL LABORATORY, 
HARLEM CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, ROCKFORD, ILL. 



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EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 65 

Mr. L. L. Driver, county superintendent of Randolph County, 
Ind., writes of the establishment of high-school departments in the 
consolidated schools of his county as follows : 

In Randolph County there are 13 consolidated schools. The first one was 
established in 1905. These 13 schools contain S4 rooms, not including recitation 
rooms, laboratories, workrooms, and playrooms. The buildings, not including 
grounds and equipment, cost nearly $300,000. The 13 schools have an average 
of 3 acres of ground each. Before consolidation, 83 teachers were employed in 
elementary work and 8 in high-school work. After consolidation, 50 teachers 
were employed in elementary work and 25 in high-school work. Six of the old 
district schools had high-school work, only two of them employing more than 
one teacher; 11 of the consolidated schools maintain high-school teachers, none 
of which have fewer than three teachers. All of the consolidated schools but 
two maintain an eight-month session; the average term of the district schools 
was less than seven months. Ail of the consolidated schools with high-school 
departments give a four-year high-school course. Under the old plan 48 per 
cent of the children graduating from the eighth grade entered high school ; 
under the new plan there are 91 per cent. 

The schools have brought about a higher appreciation of school work in 
advance of the eighth grade. Families are now represented in the high schools 
of the townships which were never represented before. Children no longer are 
discussing the question of stopping at the eighth grade, because they have in 
their own midst an. institution of higher learning. We know of no more con- 
vincing proof of the above influences than a reference to the statistical report 
of this county. In 1908-9, the j-ear before these schools were started outside the 
towns, this county had 371 eighth-grade pupils enrolled, 191 high-school pupils. 
In 1911-12, by a strange coincidence, the report shows the same number of 
eighth-grade pupils, but the enrollment in the high school has increased from 
191 to 417. Seventy-one per cent of the pupils of the townships of the county 
are in consolidated schools. 

(f) SOCIALIZING INFLUENCES OF THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 

The added value of the consolidated school over the small one- 
teacher rural school as a socializing agency can hardly be estimated. 
The larger school brings its pupils into contact with several teachers 
and a larger group of children than in the small school, who come 
from many different kinds of homes and from a wider territory than 
those in the single district. This contact with many children widens 
their visions and gives to them a breadth of view impossible in the 
small district. There is a disappearance of much of the shyness 
and bashfulness often particularly noticeable in the country child, 
a trait which often proves a handicap to him in affairs of his later 
life. He not only has contact with a large group of children, but 
he associates with them, measures himself against them, and forms 
a more correct estimate of himself and his ability than is possible 
otherwise. He learns to take his part in their activities, to cooperate, 
a lesson sadly needed in American country life. 

01 454°— 14 5 



66 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

In the consolidated schools may be formed singing classes, liter- 
ary societies, debating clubs, and dramatic associations. All of these 
have great value in the making of the boy and girl. Athletics may 
also be developed for both boys and girls, with the increased school 
spirit and the improved school work always resulting from athletics 
property conducted. 

The consolidated school, in addition to the socializing influences 
on the pupils, may have a similar influence on the community. It 
is difficult for the one-teacher school to be a " social and civic " 
center; it is easy for the consolidated school to become such. In 
other direct and indirect ways the consolidated school may have a 
great influence on the territory it serves. Many have. Among them 
may be mentioned the Farragut School at Concord, Tenn. This 
is a consolidated school with a full high-school course, serving for 
high-school purposes a much larger territory than for elementary 
school purposes. It is located in open country, 2 miles from the 
nearest village, and on a 20-acre lot on which successful farming 
J demonstrations have been carried on for 10 years since the opening 
of the school. Agriculture, manual training, and domestic science 
are included in the curriculum of the high-school department. The 
following are some of the ways the school is serving the community : * 

On the last Friday night before each full moon there has been held at the 
schoolhouse, for the past five years, meetings called " moonlight socials." These 
are community gatherings to which all are welcome. The program varies from 1 
meeting to meeting. There is always a liberal allowance of music and usually 
a talk on a subject of general interest pertaining to some phase of farm and 
home life. Sometimes the talks are given by outside persons, from the State 
Agricultural college or elsewhere. More often, however, there is a general dis- 
cussion of a selected subject, led by a few members of the community selected 
before the meeting. If the subject to be discussed deals with technical phases 
of agriculture in which they are not interested, the women will meet in another 
room and discuss some problem of housekeeping. The discussions are made as 
practical as possible. After the regular program is over the evening is given 
to general sociability, playing games and singing familiar sougs. Usually some 
sort of lunch is served. The domestic-science room has facilities which make 
the serving of a lunch very easy. The meetings are well attended and have 
become a very important part of the community life. 

Other evening meetings are held in the schoolhouse on many special occasions. 
If the people of the community desire to get together for any purpose the school- 
house is always designated as the place of meeting. 

The biggest meeting of the year, however, is on Commencement Day. The 
program lasts all day. In the forenoon the graduating exercises take place, 
with essays or short talks by members of the graduating class. These essays 
and talks are usually upon subjects pertaining to farm and country life, and 
are therefore of more interest to the audience than the ordinary high-school 
graduation essay or oration. At this forenoon meeting the graduates receive 
their diplomas. At noon a basket dinner is served on the grounds under the 
large shade trees. The food contributed by each family is put in a common lot 

1 Taken from P.ureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 49. 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF CONSOLIDATION. 67 

and served as a community dinner. The domestic-science room is utilized to 
make the lunch more complete. This plan helps make the lunch hour a real 
social hour. After dinner the visitors inspect the plat demonstrations in 
rotation of crops, and the progress of the various crops under the different 
treatments is noted. The features of the demonstration are explained by the 
principal of the school. At 2 o'clock the people assemble in the school and there 
is a commencement address, usually by some prominent outside speaker. Fol- 
lowing this is a baseball game between the high-school team and either a team 
from some other school or a selected team from among the farmers of the com- 
munity. In the evening a drama is presented by the students of the school. 
This part of the program creates great interest and is always well attended. 

Another service of the school is in furnishing agricultural reading for the 
farmers and their wives in the community. The school library contains about 
200 books and a large number of Government reports. It also contains about 
4,000 bulletins from various experiment stations in the United States. There 
is an abundance of valuable reading in these bulletins which is not ordinarily 
available for farmers, because they have no way of determining where the most 
valuable material is to be found. This school has been very successful in its 
attempts to overcome this difficulty. One teacher of the school examines all 
bulletins received. He notes particularly what in the bulletins is of value 
to the farmers and housekeepers in the territory served by the school. He 
therefore not only has information on the particular subject discussed by the 
bulletins, but also is able to put into the hands of the people of his com- 
munity the material which will be of most value to them. All the bulletins 
and books of the library are constantly in circulation in the community and 
are available for young and old people alike. The school building is open on 
Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer vacation for those who care 
to visit the library to consult the books and bulletins in the library, or to get 
books, reports, bulletins, or periodicals for home reading. 

During the vacations the school playgrounds are used freely by people in the 
district. They are, in fact, community playgrounds, on which the boys gather 
for baseball and other games whenever their duties permit. The tennis courts 
and basket-ball courts are in considerable demand. The school and its property 
are regarded by the individuals of the community as belonging to them, and 
they are welcome at all times to make any use of them which does not work 
injury to the school. On days during the summer vacation on which the school 
library is open the shower baths are also open and many visitors use them. 

The school grounds and demonstration plats are open to inspection at all 
times, and farmers driving by frequently stop to examine the crops. Many 
of them visit the plats at regular periods and study carefully their progress. 

Another important community service comes through the outside activities 
of the principal of the school. He has become an expert adviser in agriculture 
to all the farmers of the community. He is employed throughout the year, 
and a horse is furnished him. When school is not in session he spends much 
of his time in driving about the community, visiting the farmers on their farms 
and getting in touch with local agricultural conditions and problems. This 
enables him to know well the agricultural conditions of the community, to 
adapt the work of the school to the needs of the community as he finds them, 
to bring to each farmer expert advice for his own particular needs, and to give 
to all information in regard to the best things done by any. It also enables 
him to keep in touch with the boys' corn-club work and other agricultural work, 
and to see that in their practical work on the farm they apply the principles 
learned in school. 



68 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

(g) A PERMANENT TEACHING FORCE. 

One of the advantages of the consolidated school is the possibility 
of maintaining a stable teaching force. In the school with four or 
more teachers there will be relatively few changes in the teaching 
force, never a complete change, as always takes place in the one- 
room school when the teacher resigns. A permanent teaching force 
is essential in making a school efficient and satisfactory. It is par- 
ticularly desirable that a good principal be obtained for any school — 
particularly for the consolidated school — and retained as long as 
his work is satisfactory. This can be done by paying a sufficient 
salary, or it can be done by providing a home for the principal, given 
to him rent free, with land enough for a garden or a small farm by 
means of which his salary can be supplemented. The chief value 
of the teacher's home, however, is that it tends to make the teacher 
more definitely a part of the community by tying up his interests 
more closely with those of the community. 

Teachers' homes in connection with the consolidated schools are 
becoming quite common, instances being reported from many States. 
They are probably more common in Washington State than in any 
other. In discussing teachers' homes in connection with consolidated 
schools in the introductory chapter of his annual report for 1913, 
the United States Commissioner of Education says : 

When such a consolidation is made, a good sehoolhouse should be built, at- 
tractive, comfortable, and sanitary, with classrooms, laboratories, and library, 
and an assembly hall large enough not only to seat comfortably all the pupils 
of the school, but also to serve as a meeting place for the people of the district. 
For the principal's home a house should be built on the school grounds. This 
house should not be expensive, but neat and attractive, a model for the com- 
munity, such a house as any thrifty farmer with good taste might hope to 
build or have built for himself. And as a part of the equipment of the school 
there should be a small farm, from 4 to 5 acres if in a village or densely popu- 
lated community, and from 25 to 50 acres if in the open country. The principal 
of the school should be required to live in the principal's home, keep it as a 
model home for the community and cultivate the farm as a model farm, with 
garden, orchard, poultry yard, dairy, and whatever else should be found on a 
well-conducted, well-tilled farm in that community. He should put himself into 
close contact with the agricultural college and agricultural experiment station 
of his State, the departments of agriculture of State aud Nation, farm demon- 
stration agents, and other similar agencies, and it should be made their duty 
to help him in every way possible. The use of the house and the products of the 
farm should be given the principal as a part of his salary, in addition to the 
salary now paid in money. After a satisfactory trial of a year or two a con- 
tract should be made with the principal for life or good behavior, or at least 
for a long term of years. 

In this way it would be possible to get. and keep in the schools men of first- 
class ability, competent to teach children and to become leaders in their com- 
munities. The principal of a country school should know country life. A large 
pari of country life has to do with the cultivation and care of the farm. The 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OE CONSOLIDATION. 69 

best test here as elsewhere is the ability to do. The principal of a country 
school in a farming community should be able to cultivate and care for a small 
farm better, or at least as well, as any other man in the community. 

(h) summary. 

That the average consolidated school as an educational institution 
is much superior to the average one-teacher school is the general con- 
sensus of opinion of those who have had experience with each either 
as administrative officers or as teachers. N. C. McDonald, State rural 
school inspector of North Dakota, writes as follows: 

In -the 57 consolidated schools that I have visited during the past two years, 
I have found the work to be much better than in the best rural schools I have 
been in at any time. Last year I conducted a series of tests in spelling and 
arithmetic. These were given to the fifth to eighth grades, inclusive, in 30 
one-teacher rural schools, 30 graded rural schools, 30 consolidated schools, and 
10 city schools. The results are as follows : The grand average in both subjects 
for the fifth to eighth grades for city schools was 90 per cent; graded schools, 
80 ; consolidated schools, 80 ; and rural schools, 55. For the eighth grade alone 
the grand average for both tests for city schools was 90, for graded schools 80, 
for the consolidated schools 81, and for the rural school 43. The pupils in the 
rural schools were naturally just as bright as these in the other schools; but 
too many classes for the teacher, poor attendance, and poor teaching had left 
them far behind. Consolidation will remedy this and other conditions also. 
Then when we compare the number of boys completing the eighth grade, the 
graded and the consolidated schools are ahead of the rural school in that they 
graduate a larger proportion. In the schools inspected it is nearly three times 
as great, and for the city schools it is seven times as great. Here is the great 
waste in the rural school. But consolidation improves the grade and quantity 
of school work and increases the proportion completing the eighth grade. 

The principal benefits of consolidation are summarized in the 10 
points given below. These seem to be agreed upon by school au- 
thorities and patrons wherever consolidation has been given a fair 
trial. Many of these points are brought out in the following pages 
in the stories of several individual schools : 

Many statements may be given concerning the advantages obtained by the 
consolidation of rural schools. Principal among these advantages are the 
following : 

1. Adequate supervision of the teaching work is made possible through 
consolidation. 

2. Better educational results are obtained through the better division of the 
pupils' time between recitation and study. 

3. Classification becomes possible with all the advantages to the pupil of 
working in a class of pupils approximately his own age and in the same stage 
of mental advancement. 

4. Vitalizing special subjects such as music, drawing, agriculture, and house- 
hold arts may be taught in the consolidated school. 

5. High-school grades may be easily added to the consolidated school. 

0. Pupils gain much education, general culture, and breadth of view from 
contact with the larger number of pupils met in the consolidated schools. 



70 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TEANSPOETING PUPILS. 

7. The child's progress is not seriously delayed us iu the one-teacher school 
by the change of teachers. The teaching force in the consolidated school is 
stable. The entire force seldom change at the same time. In the one-teacher 
school the entire teaching force always changes at the same time and seldom 
leaves any adequate records behind. The new teacher must classify the pupils 
on the pupils' own statements of where they belong. 

8. Better teachers may be obtained for the consolidated school. Teachers 
like to work where they may have the association of other teachers, they like 
to live where they may meet other teachers. 

9. A study of consolidated schools shows that longer terms, a larger enroll- 
ment, and a more regular attendance result from the consolidation. There is a 
very marked improvement in attendance where transportation is furnished. 

10. The cost of the consolidated school is less than the one-teacher schools 
considering the advantages obtained. 



VI. SOME TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS IN- 
VESTIGATED AND REPORTED BY COLLABORATORS 
OF THE BUREAU. 



(A) THE MAYS LICK CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, MASON COUNTY, KY. 
I. HISTORY OF THE CONSOLIDATION. 

By McHenry Rhodes, 1 Professor of Secondary Education, State University of 

Kentucky. 

Consolidation of Schools and school districts into larger centers 
of educational interest is comparatively new in Kentucky. It is a 
subject now generally discussed, but one upon which very little has 
been done as a State movement. A few progressive centers, however, 
have made a beginning in an experimental way. The consolidated 
school at Mays Lick, in Mason County, is a typical center and may 
fairly represent what is the beginning of the movement for consoli- 
dation in this State. 

Mays Lick is a small town of about 250 people, situated some 10 
miles from Maysville, the county seat. In 1908 Mason County under- 
took to comply with the county high-school law, which required each 
county to establish one or more county high schools within two years 
from that time, by making preparations to establish two county high 
schools, one at Minerva and the other at Mays Lick, both rural com- 
munities. The people of Mays Lick and vicinity conceived the idea 
of consolidating the contiguous districts into one and making a real 
consolidated school, instead of a high school only. They set about 
accomplishing this end, and cooperating with the county board of 
education erected a commodious brick building at a cost of approxi- 
mately $30,000. 

1 Collaborator, U. S. Bureau of Education. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 71 

The building is modern in structure and arrangement. It has 
eight rooms, and seven teachers are working therein. The principal 
is a college graduate with experience; the high-school assistant is 
also a college graduate; the five grade teachers have had special 
preparation for their work, four of them holding State certificates. 
The consolidation at once emphasized the necessity for better teachers. 

Facts about the cost of maintenance may be summarized as follows: 

The school holds annually a session of 9 months — 36 weeks. The 
salary of the principal is $125 per month and that of high-school 
assistant $75. The first-grade teacher receives a salary of $55 per 
month, the eighth-grade teacher $50 per month, the other three $40 
per month each. The salaries of all teachers are paid out of the 
general school fund. 

Seven wagons were purchased at a cost of $157 each and drivers 
were employed at $40 per month. The driver furnished his own 
team and harness. This part of the expense is borne by the consoli- 
dated district, which taxes itself by special levy for this purpose. 

As might have been expected, new movements like this could not 
be inaugurated without opposition. The opposition, though repre- 
senting a very small minority, brought suit to prevent the collection 
of taxes to pay for transportation of pupils. The matter was taken 
through the courts, and the appellate court held that transportation 
of pupils was not a recognized school function and therefore illegal. 
The court further stated that the legislature had the right to pass a 
law providing for transportation of pupils, but had not done so. 
This final decision was rendered by the appellate court in February, 
1912. The legislature was then in session. A bill was speedily pre- 
pared and passed by the general assembly providing for consolida- 
tion of schools and school districts and for transportation of pupils 
to and from school at public expense, also legalizing what had 
already been done in this direction at Mays Lick or elsewhere, thereby 
vindicating the principle of consolidation and preparing the way for 
future work in this direction. 

The enrollment in school last year was 266, which was 95 per cent 
of the children of school age in the district. The difference in prog- 
ress of students under the consolidated plan as compared with the 
single-district plan can not well be determined, as the time of opera- 
tion has been too short for definite conclusions, but both the county 
superintendent and principal declare that the work under the new 
plan bids fair to produce very satisfactory results. The patrons are 
impressed with the value of the plan and its superiority over the one 
district. In fact, the idea is taking strong hold of the public mind in 
Mason County, and other communities are getting ready to consoli- 
date districts into grade-school centers with better facilities and 
supervision. 



72 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

This experiment was tried under very advantageous conditions. 
Mason County is a rich agricultural county ; splendid pikes traverse 
the entire county, making transportation eas} 7 . Much of the success 
of the movement is due to Miss Jessie O. Yancy, the county super- 
intendent of schools. 

The course of study, while it comprises the essentials of culture, 
is also arranged with a view to ministering to rural conditions and 
community needs. Courses in agriculture and household arts are 
maintained. The boys have a corn club, and the girls a club in the 
domestic arts. Athletics receive special attention. A school fair is 
annually conducted. Last Thanksgiving the ladies of the community 
gave a dinner in the school building, and the pupils gave a play in 
the evening, charging a small admission fee. The net proceeds from 
the day's entertainments were $319. This sum was expended in 
installing sanitary drinking fountains and providing a rest room 
for the girl students. During the three years the school has been in 
existence a total of $819 has been realized from school entertainments 
and lectures. The pupils are happy, the people are delighted, and 
the social center spirit is abundantly in evidence. The auditorium 
is crowded at every meeting. These social and industrial activities 
that are now a regular part of the school life were practically im- 
possible before consolidation. 

The drivers have so far reported very few cases for discipline on 
the roads. The children realize that they are under the care of 
school authorities on the road as well as in the school. The regu- 
larity of attendance created by transportation has made classifica- 
tion in the school more regular. 

The local tax voted by the consolidated district yields an annual 
net income of $3,200. From this source come the funds for defraying 
the expenses of transportation. The rate of taxation in the county 
for school purposes is 20 cents on $100 of taxable property, and the 
additional rate in the consolidated district for purposes of trans- 
portation is 20 cents on the $100 of taxable property. Both taxes 
are collected by the sheriff as other taxes are collected and are turned 
over to the proper school authorities. 

This consolidated school, combining both grades and high school, 
may fittingly be styled a typical consolidated school for Kentucky. 
It will serve and is now serving as a demonstration school to other 
parts of the State. It started under favorable conditions, has lived 
down what little opposition that developed to it, has set a new ideal 
in the people of the community, and is in fact the social and intel- 
lectual center of community life. 

The following is a letter written by Mr. W. E. Pyles, trustee of 
the Mays Lick school to the State superintendent, and tells in a per- 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 73 

sonal and interesting way some of the obstacles met and OA^ercome in 
the first few years of the school's history : 

Mays Lick, February 25, 1913. 

Dear Mr. Hamlett: I am writing you in regard to our consolidated school 
at Mays Lick. I am giving you the details of how it was built. After the 
enactment of the Sullivan school law in 1908, I was elected trustee of the 
subdi strict school at Mays Lick, and chairman of educational division Mo. 4, 
and secretary of the county board. Soon after the organization of the county 
board we decided to establish somewhere in the county a high school. At a 
meeting called for this purpose, I expected the board would select Mays Lick, 
as I thought here was the ideal place, as it would serve more children from 
their homes, but each of the other members had a location in his division where 
a high school was desirable. We adjourned without making a selection. 
Before we met again I consulted the Mays Lick people, and we decided to make 
the board of education a proposition that our district would pay $5,000 on the 
school building; that is, we would vote a local tax each year of $1,000 for five 
years. Fifty substantial men signed a contract that if any year the district 
should fail to vote the tax, they would pay the $1,000 as individuals. Being of 
the opinion that this was more help locally than any other place would give, 
they decided to locate the high school at Mays Lick. 

We then secured an option on 10 acres of land, employed an architect to 
furnish plans and specifications, advertised for contractors to submit estimates, 
the board exjjecting to create a sinking fund to pay for the building, but when we 
selected the lowest contractor, and were ready to sign the contracts, we were 
advised that we had no money to build, and the law prohibited us from creating 
a debt we could not pay from that year's revenue. The board concluded that it 
was impossible to erect a building suitable for a high school, and was about 
to abandon the proposed high school at Mays Lick. Then the Mays Lick people 
proposed to the board that they would furnish the money for the building, and 
to do this, we organized the Mays Lick Improvement Co., incorporated, at $100 
a share; sold 50 shares, amounting to $5,000, and borrowed $20,000. Then the 
Mays Lick Improvement Co. entered into an agreement with the board of 
education to erect on the 10 acres already selected a building according to the 
plans and specifications furnished by the board; the board agreeing to pay 
the improvement company $3,000 rent a year, in addition to the $1,000 paid 
by the district, until the improvement company had received all the money 
expended, with 6 per cent interest, the property then to be deeded to the 
county. 

The building when completed cost about $32,000, a part of the money due 
from the county board for the first two years being paid directly to the con- 
tractors. We thought the building, consisting of six large rooms, two small 
rooms, and auditorium, seating 350, would accommodate the children in a dis- 
trict the boundary of which would be from 4 to 5 miles from the Mays Lick 
School, and containing what was originally seven districts. The county board 
being assured by the taxpayers who petitioned the board to consolidate these 
districts that they would vote a tax to transport the children, the board con- 
sented, and in the spring of 1931 formed the consolidated district. At the 
following August election a vote was taken as to whether or not they should 
levy a 20-cent tax for local school purposes, including transportation of children 
tc and from school, the vote being 134 for the tax and 90 against. The sheriff 
collected the tax, amounting to $3,535.28. A few of our wealthy taxpayers, 
who thought they could not afford to pay taxes for school, enjoined the 
sheriff from paying the money to the school board. The lower court dismissed 



74 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TBANSPOBTING PUPILS. 

the injunction, but the court of appeals ruled we had a right to use the money 
for local purposes, as generally understood, but could not use any part of it 
for transportation. This decison was not reached until January, 1912. We 
had bought seven wagons at a cost of $165 each, and had contracted with seven 
men with teams at $40 per month for driving from September. We had not 
anticipated this ruling from the court. Our side of the question was in the 
hands of Judge Henry S. Barker and Judge Ed O'Rear, who gave considerable 
time and thought to the case without cost to the school. However, the legislature 
was in session, and Miss Jessie Yancey and myself left at once for Frankfort, 
when we explained to the committee on education that we had made the con- 
tracts and had the money ; that the voters had said at the polls how it was 
to be used, and desired a law that would permit the money to be so expended. 
At this session a bill was passed empowering county boards to consolidate dis- 
tricts, and to submit to the voters a proposition to levy a tax to transport 
children, and validating an election already held. So we continued to trans- 
port children to and from school. At the August election, 1912, we again voted 
as to levying a 20-cent tax for transportation with 105 for and 24 against. 
This year we had an enrollment of 296 and used nine wagons. In addition to 
the tax, we have raised, since our building was completed in the fall of 1910, 
by entertainments and rent for the auditorium $1,355.12 ; also raised by private 
subscription $265 to extend the term of 1910 and 1911. With this money we 
have lighted the entire building with acetylene gas, installed sanitary drinking 
fountains, piano, window shades, supplementary readers, flowers, trees, etc., 
and have a balance sufficient to equip laboratory and furnish rest room. At 
the instigation of our assistant principal, Miss Frances Jean Gordon, in the 
spring of 1911 we set aside one Friday as a working day on which the men 
with their horses and wagons were invited to help the school boys to sod 
that part of the yard between the building and the road, the ladies and school 
girls furnishing dinner. A day enjoyed by all taking part, and a large yard 
made beautiful. If this work had been done by contract, it would have cost 
$250. Altogether this district has raised since 1910 by local taxes, etc., 
$9,809.67. It might appear that this is a wealthy district, but 56 per cent of 
the children in the census are in rented homes. 

Yours, very truly, W. E. Pyles, Trustee. 

II. THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL. 

By R. F. Gaither, Principal. 

The first year after consolidating 7 school wagons transported 
the children. The next year it took 9, and after school opened 
for 1913-14 we were compelled to put on the eleventh wagon to relieve 
the congestion on one wagon that at times brought in as many as 
42 pupils. The increase in the number of wagons is a pretty fair 
index of the increase in attendance. This increased attendance would 
within itself seem to justify the increased expenditure. The num- 
ber of teachers has been increased to seven, and some of the rooms 
have this fall (1913) been crowded beyond their capacity so that we 
are very much in need of another teacher. 

Not only are more pupils brought into school, but tardiness is 
reduced to a minimum, and those who are enrolled attend more regu- 
larly than under the old system. Although our school was closed 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 75 

last year by epidemics of meningitis and measles, still our attend- 
ance based on enrollment was 93.9 per cent. This attendance is very 
gratifying when we compare it with that of Mason County, 60 per 
cent ; that of Kentucky, 57^ per cent ; and that of the United States, 
72.1 per cent. The main benefits derived from consolidation with 
transportation can not be given in figures. These benefits may be 
classed under three heads as : Benefits to the school as an institu- 
tion developing true citizens, benefits to the student body, and bene- 
fits to the community at large. 

The one-room school, like all small institutions, is not generally 
susceptible of a very high degree of organization, while the con- 
solidated school can be as thoroughly organized as a city system. 
Among the host of benefits to the school that we have found result- 
ing from better organization are better discipline, better grading 
and classification, a longer period of time for each recitation, and a 
better opportunity for personal work with backward pupils. The 
latter is a very important part of the school's work in elevating the 
social status of the community. Sympathetic interest and a little 
personal attention will help hold the backward pupils in school and 
keep them from dropping out and swelling the number of semi- 
illiterates of the community. 

The benefits accruing to the country pupil from consolidation can 
hardly be estimated. It gives to him a broader life, widens his 
vision, and affords him an opportunity to more nearly fill up his 
life to the full measure of its possibilities. In the consolidated 
school the pupil has a wider circle of acquaintances and learns to 
estimate his own value. He has a better opportunity to realize that 
he is really one of the units of an active world. He does not have 
to come into middle life before it dawns on him that he should be 
one of the active agents in shaping the trend of affairs, political and 
otherwise. 

We believe that we have noticed some immediate and direct effects 
on our pupils. They are imbued with a higher sense of honor than 
is generally found in the small school. When we began, the " gang 
spirit " was strong. Some of its undesirable features were promi- 
nent. An offender was protected. Now they feel that it is the 
dignity of the institution and the self-respect of the student body 
that must be protected, and offenders have ceased to try to conceal 
themselves among a number of their companions, trusting that the 
companions will accept a part of the blame rather than expose them. 

We can not estimate what part of our high percentage of atcend- 
ance is due directly to the transportation feature, but we believe 
that, among the older pupils especially, there is another element that 
enters into it to a very marked extent, and that is the student's 
realization of the importance of each day's work. It requires an 



76 . CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

exceptional teacher to handle the large number of classes necessary 
in a one-room school in such a way that the stimulus of grade dis- 
tinction is not lost. Usually the different grades must be jumbled 
together and the recitations hurried through in such a way that 
the pupil comes to attach little importance to the day's work as 
such. Opposite conditions are easily attained in a consolidated 
school. Last week one of our pupils came to me with a statement 
like this : " I have necessarily been absent two days, and it looks to 
me like I am two weeks behind my class." Such a pupil knows 
where she stands at the end of each day and will exert herself to be 
regular in attend since and " make good " in her work. 

Everyone knows of the inspiration that comes from numbers. We 
have all felt the difference between plodding along alone and being- 
carried on by the sweeping current of the crowd. The child feels 
it perhaps more sensibly than the adult. The Southern negro, who 
is more nearly the child of nature than the white man, feels it to 
such an extent that he is almost gregarious. This love of the crowd 
is in almost all normal people. It is one of the influences that draw 
boys and girls to the city. Its effect is as great in school at it is 
elsewhere. Lack of numbers in each class is, to a large extent, 
responsible for the older pupils quitting the one-room school before 
they complete the grade work. Don't blame the pupil. You who 
experienced like conditions did the same thing, or would have done 
so had not your parents restrained you. In our school, consolida- 
tion has proven a cure for this evil. Out of 24 pupils who passed 
our eighth grade last spring 23 entered the high school this fall. 
As you read that statement, bear in mind that between the eighth 
and ninth grades is one of the breaks in our school system. Consoli- 
dation holds the pupils in school. 

The building of character by means of wholesome athletics should 
be included in the catalogue of benefits of consolidation. Our boys 
and girls find in basket ball, baseball, tennis, track-team work, and 
other sports an outlet for their animal spirits, so that the larger boys 
are not found out behind the house teasing small pupils and raising 
" scraps " among them. In the friendly rivalry of their sports the 
larger boys have learned so well the lesson of "give and take" that 
Avhen present they generally stop any troubles brewing among the 
younger pupils. Not a single fight has come to our attention during 
the three and a half years we have been here. Athletics benefits 
not only the pupils participating, but it is an excellent means of 
creating that valuable asset, school spirit. All the countryside come 
to see the games. They get interested and root for the home team, 
and then go home talking about " our boys " and " our girls " and 
" our team " when athletics is the only tie that binds some of them 
to the school. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 77 

Consolidation brings together a sufficient number of pupils to make 
possible the organization of an efficient literary society in every 
school. Almost all men and women of middle life have had the 
experience of being called on to make a talk, and unless they have 
had training their speech usually consists of little else than rising to 
their feet, getting red in the face, choking up, and sitting down. 
Besides bringing our people together in pleasant social intercourse, 
we expect our literary society. to have a marked effect on the careers 
of our pupils when their school days are over. 

In a one-room school the teacher has neither facilities nor time for 
manual training unless other duties are neglected. Neither is there 
time for drawing and music. These are potent factors in developing 
higher ideals and the aesthetic nature of the child and should be 
given to every country child when possible. We know that they have 
exerted a beneficent influence over our children but have not the 
opportunity to observe to what extent their cultural value has affected 
the homes. 

We can observe in only a general way the benefits consolidation 
has conferred on the community at large. Of course all benefits 
received by the pupils directly are received by the community in- 
directly. Each year the Mays Lick Consolidated School is increas- 
ing its number of friends. The people believe in it and give unmis- 
takable evidences of pride when speaking of it. The school spirit of 
the pupils has spilled over into the homes of the patrons and even 
into many homes that are childless. An entertainment given by the 
pupils nearly always fills, our auditorium to its seating capacity of 
350, and we usually have to sell standing room. Thus far we have 
not thought it best to organize a parent-teachers' association in this 
district. We attain the ends sought by such an association and at 
the same time keep the people interested as a whole. To illustrate 
our point let us consider our school bazaar and Thanksgiving dinner. 
About six weeks before Thanksgiving the principal issued a request 
for all ladies interested in getting up a bazaar and Thanksgiving din- 
ner to meet at the schoolhouse on a certain day. The day appointed 
was very disagreeable, and so only two ladies were present. Were 
we discouraged? Not at all. We had felt the pulse of the com- 
munity too often for that. We appointed another day for meeting 
a week later and adjourned. At the second meeting a sufficient 
number were present to guarantee success. A president was elected, 
committees were appointed to solicit donations from every person 
in the district, and in a few days practically every home in the dis- 
trict was preparing something for Thanksgiving Day, either for the 
dinner or for the bazaar. Of course the day was a success, just as the 
two previous ones had been. Tn the last three years we have taken in 
over $1,000 in just this way. After three trials some of the people 



78 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TKANSPOETING PUPILS. 

are asking- that we make the Thanksgiving dinner a permanent thing. 
The money thus raised has been used to pay for our drinking foun- 
tains, piano, light plant, laboratory, furniture for a rest room, win- 
dow shades, shade trees, flowers, and many other small items. 

(b) THE COMSTOCK (MICH.) CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 

By Ernest Burnham, 1 Director of Rural School Department, State Normal 
School, Kalamazoo, Mich. 

The Comstock consolidation was made in 1906 and consisted at first 
of four whole districts and parts of two other districts. The area 
was afterwards extended to 18 sections, or one-half of a township. 
The curriculum of the school developed rapidly to include domestic 
art, manual training, drawing, and music. Library, laboratory, and 
classroom facilities were accumulated, and excellent service was ren- 
dered by the school, which became one of the best graded schools in 
the county outside of the city of Kalamazoo. However, in June, 
1911, three of the old districts withdrew from the consolidation and 
opened small schools at home. The reasons are given later in this 
article. 

Before the dissolution of the consolidation three vans and a trolley 
line which crossed the district and passed near the school were used 
for transportation. The chief expressions of dissatisfaction were in 
respect to the tax rate, which had risen from 2.4 mills the first year 
of consolidation to approximately 12 mills (not including permanent 
investment, which raised the rate to 14 mills) in 1911, and to the diffi- 
culties of transportation. Extending the school site, enlarging and 
improving the building, and a comparatively liberal budget for cur- 
rent expenses account for the increase of tax rate. 

The present superintendent, who has been in continuous service 
since the establishment of the consolidation before it was decided to 
return to the district plan, suggested the following considerations as 
the important lessons of experience : 

1. Transportation is the hardest feature. This should be reduced to a mini- 
mum. Next year's plan is to start from the homes one hour later, to abbreviate 
the intermissions, and occupy these brief recesses for organized play and a 
warm luncheon. 

2. Teachers should be secured who are intelligent about and interested in 
rural people and conditions. 

3. Expansion of the equipment and curriculum should proceed rapidly at the 
beginning of the consolidated school, and to make this possible initial expendi- 
tures should be distributed by bonding over a considerable period of years. 

4. The consolidated school should own its lighting and pumping station and 
should be provided with sanitary drinking fountains and all necessary hygienic 
furnishings at the start. 

1 Special collaborator, United States Bureau of Education. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 



79 



5. Established practices will safeguard the elementary school. The high 
school will need to be stimulated, and the cooperation of all local organizations 
to this end should be sought. An energetic civic improvement league has been a 
great aid in Comstock. 

6. The real opponents of the consolidated school are not the people at large, 
but the heavy taxpayers. 

Table 1 following summarizes significant statistics about the Com- 
stock Consolidated School. In the table, after " Father's occupa- 
tion." "A" is agriculture, " I " is shopwork industry, and " T " is 
teacher. After kind and grade of present certificate, " Life " means 
a State life certificate to teach, " 2 " means county second-grade cer- 
tificate, and " 3 " means county third-grade certificate. " Visits by 
superintendent " refers to the county school commissioner, a position 
corresponding to county superintendent in other States. The data 
are for 1912-13. 

Table 1. — Summaries of district and teachers, 1912-13. 



District. 



Area in sections sq. m. . 

Tax valuations 

Site in square rods 

Value of school property 

Rate of local tax mills.. 

Total cost of transportation 

Per capita cost of transportation 

Total paid in teacher's wages 

Annual cost of education 

Per capita cost of education based on 
enrollment 

Cash on hand at end of year 

Volumes in library 

Volumes added during year 

Children of school age 

Enrollment 

Average daily attendance 

Percentage of enrollment based on census. 

Percentage of attendance based on en- 
rollment 

Days of school 

Different teachers 

Median wages per month (exclusive of 
superintendent) 

Estimated legal voters 

Voters at annual meeting 

Women voters at meeting 



18 

11566,340 

100 

87, 000 

12 

81,375 

85 

$3,747 

2 $9, 210 

$34 
$1,217 
785 
50 
337 
270 
252 



93 

180 

9 



$45 

260 

60 

11 



Median age, in years 

Number of teachers 

Father's occupation 

Educational preparation (median, in 
years) 

Kind and grade of present certificate . . . 

Normal school instruction (median, in 
months) 

Days' attendance at institutes 

Reading circle, books read 

School journals taken, 1910-11 

Months' experience in teaching 

Days employed in school, 1910-11 

Wages per month, 1910-11 

Cost of board, room, and travel, per 
month 

Visits by superintendent 

Length of his visits, in hours 

Visits by district officers 

Length of their visits (median in hours) 

Visits by patrons 

Length of visits, in hours 

Homes visited by teachers 

Social gatherings attended by teachers. . 

Social gatherings managed by school 

Public entertainments given by school . , 



25 

M, 1; F,8 
A, 4 
1,4 
T,l 



C 1 ) 



14 



18 
2 

2 

36 
180 

3$45 



i Life, 62 per cent; second grade, 25 per cent; third grade, 32 per cent. 

' The item for "Annual cost of education" includes $1,000 paid on debt, $600 paid for enlarging site and 
improving building, and $600 paid for electric and water facilities. 
3 Superintendent, $110. 

By vote of the district the consolidated school was dissolved, 
taking effect at end of school year of 1913-14. The reorganization 
leaves the central district with some territory additional to the 
original central district and three outlying districts, where separate 
schools, two one-teacher and one two-teacher schools, were opened 
in September, 1914. 

Most of the reasons for the dissolution are indicated in the lessons 
of experience quoted from the superintendent. 



80 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The causes of the failure which are most frequently heard in the 
community are : 

1. Factional strife among the people. 

2. The high tax rate. 

3. The long hours for small children. 

Explanations offered by outside observers include the following: 

1. A too rapid expansion of the annual maintenance budget. 

2. Aggressive distrust and jealousy on the part of a few taxpayers 
who were not taken intimately enough into the confidence of the 
superintendent and members of the board of education. 

3. An honest conviction on the part of some intelligent parents in 
the outlying districts that an elementary school within walking 
distance of the home is both cheaper and better. 

One man in the outside detached part of the area tells me that, 
" The scheme is all right, but we did not know enough to run it." 
Another says the same thing in attributing the failure to the " jeal- 
ousness " of certain individuals. 

(c) THE PORT WING CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, PORT WING, WIS. 
By W. E. Larson, State rural school inspector. 1 

Port Wing is a small unincorporated village situated on Lake 
Superior, in Bayfield County. The country around it is yet com- 
paratively new, although it has been developed quite extensively dur- 
ing the last few years. This part of the State has great possibilities, 
and it w r as because of this fact that some of the leading citizens of 
the community planned the school system of the town of Port Wing. 

In 1894 a small mill was erected at the village and a school was 
organized. By 1898 the number of pupils had increased to such an 
extent that a two-department school was established in two build- 
ings, and about 3 miles away a smaller school was located in a log 
schoolhouse. In 1900 the town of Port Wing was organized and the 
township system of school government was established. Because of 
the increased school attendance the school authorities were com- 
pelled to provide added school facilities. Some of the leaders, an- 
ticipating the growth of the community, decided to erect a building 
which would accommodate at least 400 pupils and provide transpor- 
tation for the children living at a distance. The school 3 miles away 
was closed. Instead of building schoolhouses in various parts of the 
town as settlers moved in the school board provided transportation 
facilities. 

When the township system was abolished in 1911 and the district 
system substituted the whole town of Port Wing was organized as 
one single and independent district. 

1 Collaborator, U. S. Bureau of Education. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 15 




A. PORT WING CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, WIS. 




B. MORO CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, ARK. 



BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



BULLETIN, 1914, NO. 30 PLATE 17 





















. 








P 


















~ ■■ ■• ■. , 




iTJ. . 






....'. 




FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING IN THE DIS- MACDONALD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, 

TRICT, BUILT IN 1828. 1906. 





GRASS PLOTS, MACDONALD CONSOLI- 
DATED SCHOOL. 



CABBAGES GROWN BY PRIMARY 
CHILDREN. 



THE MACDONALD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, KINGSTON, N. B. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 81 

The school building itself is an eight-room structure and built of 
the best materials. The present cost, including heating system and 
equipment, is approximately $30,000. In the erection of the building 
the town was aided by a loan of $10,000 from the State trust funds, 
which amount was paid in three years. The building was erected 
at a time when the lumbering industry was prominent. Owing to the 
foresight of the leading men of the community, the settlers now have 
an excellent school building which is the pride of the town. 

At the present time five teachers are employed. The district main- 
tains what is known in Wisconsin as a " State graded school of the 
first class." Nine grades are being maintained. The principal of 
the school holds a State certificate, and the other teachers have quali- 
fications required by the State graded-school law. The amount paid 
for teachers 1 salaries during the year 1911-12 was $2,520. The total 
enrollment is about 150 pupils. The length of the term is nine 
months, the minimum required in all State graded schools. The 
total amount expended for school purposes the past year was approx- 
imately $6,000. Of this sum about $1,000 was spent for permanent 
improvements and equipment, leaving the actual cost of maintenance 
approximately $5,000. The assessed valuation of the town of Port 
Wing is approximately $500,000. 

During the past year five wagons were used to transport the chil- 
dren to school. Four of these were in operation the entire school 
year, and the fifth was used six months. The transportation routes 
are laid out by the board and let out by bids to responsible drivers. 
The total cost of transportation for the past }^ear was $1,255.41. The 
drivers receive from $30 to $38 per month and furnish their own 
Avagons. These wagons are covered and the children are kept com- 
fortable. Not a day has been lost by the drivers since the system was 
established. Onty a very few children are being transported more 
than 4 miles. The attendance is excellent at all times. 

The school building contains one large assembly room, which is 
used for public meetings of various kinds. The community has an 
excellent opportunity to make the school a social and civic center. 
As the country becomes more settled and the school attendance in- 
creases, it is possible to extend the course so that more grades may be 
added. Eventually Port Wing will have a high school of its own in 
which the young people can get an advanced education right at home. 
The course of study for State graded schools includes instruction in 
agriculture, and the subject will do much to get the young people 
interested in the industrial development of the surrounding country. 

To give the children of the town school facilities locally, it would 
be necessary to maintain at least five schools in addition to the graded 
school at Port Wing. Most of these schools would have a small 
61454°— 14 6 



82 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

attendance, and some of the children would have a considerable dis- 
tance to walk. There is no comparison between the present school 
facilities and what they would be if small schools were established in 
various parts of the town. Though there was considerable opposi- 
tion to the plan at the beginning, there would now be a unanimous 
opposition to return to the small-school plan. The cost under the 
present system is not greater than the cost would be if small schools 
were established and maintained in a proper manner. 

(d) THE WOOL MARKET CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, HARRISON COUNTY, MISS. 
By W. H. Smith, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mississippi. 1 

In Harrison County, Miss., about 8 miles out from the Gulf and 
in a typical south Mississippi rural community, may be found the 
Wool Market consolidated school, the subject of this brief study. 
Three medium-sized one-teacher schools — Coalville, King, and Oak- 
head — were brought together two years ago to form this school near 
the Wool Market post office, on the Biloxi River. 

The new house, built by private subscription at a cost of about 
$2,000, was located within 2 miles of all the children in two of the 
old districts, while a transportation wagon was used to bring in 
from 25 to 30 pupils from the Oakhead district, about 3 miles from 
the new schoolhouse. The territory of the new school covers 27 
square miles and now has within its bounds 13-1 children of legal 
school age. 

Each of the teachers in the abandoned schools, having from 30 to 
40 recitations daily to cover the eight grades of the elementary and 
grammar grades, had no time to do high-school work, and on that 
account had no high-school pupils. As a result of those conditions 
the patrons who were able financially to bear the expense sent their 
children out of the community to school as soon as they Avere ready 
for the high school, at an annual cost of from $150 to $200, while the 
larger number were forced to turn aside to take up life's duties and 
responsibilities with only the meager training obtained in these little 
schools. Such conditions obtain in three-fourths of the schools in 
the South. The Wool Market consolidated school, now serving the 
same territory, has 23 high-school pupils — 16 in the ninth grade, 5 
in the tenth grade, and 2 in the eleventh grade — and 20 pupils in the 
music and expression classes under special teachers. 

The aggregate average attendance for the original schools was 60 
pupils, according to the records, while the average attendance now 
in the consolidated school is 110 pupils, with an enrollment of 125. 
There are only children of school age in the district not in school. 

1 Collaborator, U. S. Bureau of Education. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 83 

111 the old schools the number was too small to form an attractive 
social center and to justify the employment of special teachers, but 
the new school is fast becoming the center of all social activities of 
this larger community, employs special teachers in music and expres- 
sion, and has in the faculty teachers qualified to give instruction in 
practical agriculture and domestic science. In the interhigh -school 
contests last spring the Wool Market consolidated school, though only 
two years old, captured a fair share of the medals in declamation and 
recitation, while the girls' basket-ball team claims the county cham- 
pionship. 

The school is located on 5 acres of land, which are used for play- 
grounds, school garden, and practical agricultural demonstration 
work. Dr. Welch, the community physician, lectures to the school 
once a week on hygiene and school and home sanitation; and Mr. 
W. A. Cox, a trustee of the school and a practical farmer and horti- 
culturist, gives the school weekly lectures on agricultural, horticul- 
tural, and allied subjects. 

After trying the consolidated school two years the patrons and 
other citizens of the Wool Market community voluntarily levied a tax 
of $7 per thousand on the property of the district to support the 
school for an eight or nine months' session. 

Comparative statistics. 

Cost of tlie three teachers in old school per month $128 

Aggregate attendance in the three schools 60 

Average cost per pupil per month $2. 13 

Cost of the three teachers in the elementary and grammar school grade? 

of the consolidated school, per month $150 

Entire cost of the one transportation wagon, per month $50 

Average cost per pupil per month in same grades $2. 22 

Cost of the four, teachers in entire school and of the school wagon, 

per month $280 

Average cost per pupil for the elementary and high school $2/54 

The Wool Market school, with its four teachers and adequate 
high-school advantages, costs the community only 41 cents per pupil, 
or a total of $45 per month more than the three little one-teacher 
schools. To send the 23 high-school pupils out of the community 
for their high-school education would cost the community at least 
$1,000 more than this entire school cost the community and county 
for eight months. Mr. W. A. Cox, referred to above, is authority 
for the statement that the value of land in the community had in- 
creased during the two years as a result of the good school from 
$10 per acre to $25 per acre. 

What has been accomplished in the Wool Market school can be 
dene in almost any community in the South. This and similar in- 
stances that might be mentioned lend strength to the contention that 



84 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

adequate school advantages can be provided for the country children 
in the community near the farm home. 

(e) GARFIELD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, STATE OF WASHINGTON. 

By Margaret Craig Cnrran, formerly of Washington State Department of 

Education. 1 

The Garfield consolidated school, which draws its pupils from the 
original Garfield district and several districts outside, is situated 
in the town of Garfield, in Whitman County. Garfield has a popu- 
lation of somewhat more than 1.000 inhabitants. It is surrounded 
by rich farming country and is located on the Northern Pacific and 
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co. railroads and the Inland Empire 
Electric Railway. 

The circumstances that led to the consolidation of the districts 
were largely accidental. Consolidation had been considered for 
some time by two or three country districts for the purpose of 
establishing a country high school. Several families, however, were 
opposed to the plan for the reason that they were as close to Garfield 
as they would be to the proposed high school, and they could not see 
the necessity of another building when all the pupils of the territory 
could be accommodated in the Garfield schools. This fact is of 
interest because it drew the line dividing the people for and against 
consolidation with Garfield. 

The second step of the accidental order was taken in December, 
1908. The teacher in district No. 151 failed to pass the teachers' ex- 
amination, thus leaving the school without a teacher. Teachers that 
year seemed hard to find, and the school was closed. This district 
had as a director, Mr. E. J. Byrne, who was perhaps the leader in the 
opposition to the country high school and' the leader in favor of 
consolidation with Garfield. It was the most natural thing that he 
should hitch up his team and take his five children to the Garfield 
school. Others of the district followed his example, and the records 
show that almost the entire enrollment got a taste of the town school 
before the year was over. The children enjoyed and profited by 
their attendance at the Garfield school. The county school superin- 
tendent, Mr. N. D. Showalter, was in favor of the plan of consolidat- 
ing the several districts with the Garfield district. The matter was 
presented to the people of the various districts and a petition was pre- 
pared. Strong opposition was found ; there were many who doubted 
the advisability of organizing a consolidated district some 10 miles 
in length and 6 miles in breadth. In this part of Whitman County 
the soil is heavy, black, and sticky. The hills are numerous, long, 
and high. The roads are the roads of a new country. They are 



1 Collaborator, 17. S. Bureau of Education. 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 85 

being improved, but only as roads in a fanning community where 
the farms run into the hundreds of acres are improved. In order that 
the children might arrive at the school in time for the 9 o'clock bell, 
it was necessary for the wagon to start with the first children not 
later than 7 o'clock in the morning. This in the short days of winter 
was early indeed. From 7.30 in the morning until 5 in the evening 
was a long, hard school day. 

In the face of all these difficulties the great majority of the people 
believed that the children would be better cared for in the Garfield 
school than they would be cared for in the country schools. At 
the hearing it was clearly shown that a majority of the people were 
in favor of undertaking this plan, and a consolidated district was, 
therefore, formed by the county superintendent in June, 1909, by 
uniting two rural school districts, numbered, respectively, 21 and 151, 
with No. 36, the Garfield district. 

The records show that at that time district No. 21 had an average 
daily attendance of 37 pupils and had had a 7-months' term of 
school during the last year. District No. 151 had an average daily 
attendance of 12 pupils, and the school had been in session 9 
months. At the time these districts were consolidated, Garfield was 
maintaining a school having all the grades, including a four-year 
high school. When the children from the rural districts were 
brought in, their classification scattered them through the different 
rooms, so that it was not necessary to employ any additional teach- 
ing force in order to take care of them. The pupils below the high- 
school grades were given the advantages which the children of any 
city school enjoy. Therefore, the boys and girls from the farms 
had equal opportunity with those of the city. 

The usual argument that consolidation is to make one large district 
of several small, struggling ones is not to be applied too rigidly in 
the Garfield case. Before the consolidation, district No. 21 had an 
enrollment of 49 pupils and district No. 151 had an enrollment of 
23. As each district had a large railroad valuation, the tax rate was 
below the average, and at the hearing it was shown that a higher tax 
rate would be necessary under consolidation. However, the people 
wanted to give their children the best possible opportunity to acquire 
an education. The records show that the tax rates have been from 
3 to 5 mills higher on the old country districts since the consolida- 
tion. For this cost the children secure the privilege of attending a 
graded school with all its advantages over the usual rural school. 

Beginning with the fourth grade the pupils are sent to the high 
school each week, where expert instruction is given them in manual 
training and the domestic arts. When they reach the high-school 
grades, work in these branches is continued. They have the advantage 
of a four-year accredited high school, in which thev can take courses 



86 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

which will prepare them for entrance to any of the higher institu- 
tions of learning in the State of Washington. Two years' work in 
a commercial course can be had in this school. This district, as 
enlarged by consolidation, was not content to remain simply a graded 
school and high school of the ordinary type. The people wished 
more. A broad course in manual training was introduced; also a 
thorough course in domestic economy. These courses were popular 
from the first, as evidenced by the fact that of the 450 pupils enrolled 
in the schools, 111 boys took the mechanical course and 115 girls took 
the economy course in the year 1911-12. Teachers who have had 
special training and who are graduates of accredited institutions 
have been employed to teach these subjects, and the investment has 
paid. Bench work, turning, home repair, along with a full course 
in mechanical drawing constitute the principal work in the manual 
training department, while in the domestic economy course, cooking, 
sewing, and home-making arts are taught. 

A course in agriculture was added in 1913. This includes a course 
in chemistry, conducted to augment the course in cooking on the 
one hand and chemistry of the soil on the other. The teacher of 
agriculture is employed part of the time in advising farmers in the 
rural sections. 

Consolidation has been a benefit in the community in another di- 
rection. A college-extension plan has been arranged whereb}- special 
instruction is given the women of the community in domestic econ- 
omy. A week is set aside for instructing the men in agriculture, 
animal husbandry, and kindred subjects. For these courses instruc- 
tors from the State college at Pullman are secured. 

The opposition to consolidation is dying out, as the many advan- 
tages are becoming more and more apparent. One of the advan- 
tages which the farmers are enjoying as much as any other is the 
notable improvement made on the roads, especially along the routes 
which the transportation wagons take. 

The per cent of country pupils continuing throughout the course 
in the Garfield schools shows a noticeable improvement over condi- 
tions before consolidation. The country children are far. more 
regular and punctual in attendance than the town children. While 
the hours are long and the distance traveled in many cases is great, 
the health of the pupils is good ; the children are not exposed to wet 
and cold as they would be if they were attending the rural schools 
where transportation is not provided. 

Four wagons were used to transport pupils to and from the Gar- 
field school in 1911-12. There has been no difficulty in securing the 
services of good, reliable men as drivers. The discipline in the 
wagons and the attitude of the people toward transportation depend 
largely upon the character of the driver, and the Garfield district 



TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS. 



87 



has been fortunate in this respect. Splendid discipline and well- 
managed wagons have resulted in a favorable attitude of the people 
toward transportation of pupils. The cost of transportation aver- 
ages $80 per month per wagon. 

(r) MORO CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, ARKANSAS. 
By J. L. Bond, State supervisor of rural schools, Arkansas. 1 

Moro is is a thriving village in the west-central part of Lee 
County, in the fertile St. Francis-Mississippi Valley, in one of the 
richest agricultural counties of the State, the land being generally 
level and easily cultivated. The roads are only fair. During the 
winter and spring months some of them become very " bad,"" 1 but 
they are now being improved. Within the last few months a $100,000 
county bond issue for road-building purposes has been authorized. 
. Three small districts were consolidated to give the larger terri- 
tory needed for the consolidated school. District 15, which might 
properly be designated the base for the consolidation, was composed 
of only 10 sections, while districts 14 and 36 contained 12 sections 
each. 

District 15 had a small, one-room school building. The building 
was a frame structure, very ordinary and poorly furnished. The 
average length of school term was about five months in the year, 
with small attendance. School interest was lagging. 

Conditions in district 14 were very similar to those in district 15. 
The school building was small, with one room, very ordinary and 
poorly furnished. The average annual length of school term was 
from four to six months. 

District 36 had no school building. A school had not been taught 
in this district for a number of years, the last one having been at the 
residence of one of the school patrons. 

As criteria of the interest shown by the people in the schools taught 
in these two districts the year preceding the consolidation, the fol- 
lowing statistics are given : 

Statistics of school districts. 



Districts. 


School 
enumer- 
ation. 


Pupils 
enrolled. 


Percentage 
enumera- 
tion 
enrolled in 
school. 


Average 
daily 

attend- 
ance. 


Percentage 
enumera- 
tion in 
daily 
attendance. 




89 


49 
25 


55 35 
67. 5 19 


59.3 


J > is1 rict 14 


37 


51.3 













The facts and statistics given above regarding these districts refer 
only to the schools for the whites. 

1 Special collaborator, United States Bureau of Education. 



58 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The agitation for consolidation of the districts began first in dis- 
trict 15. A number of the people in the district began thinking, 
talking, and working to build up a better school. Consolidation of 
districts suggested itself; then opposition arose, almost violent on 
the part of some. The sentiment for consolidation in all the dis- 
tricts to be affected crystallized slowly but gradually. 

A public mass meeting was called at Moro during the winter of 
1010. The question of consolidation of the districts was discussed, 
and it was decided that steps should be taken at once to effect the 
consolidation of the districts. An election was called in each dis- 
trict. The vote was almost unanimous in favor of the consolidation 
of the three districts. At this same election six directors were 
elected for the consolidated district. 

A beautiful school site, well located, containing a little more than 
2 acres, and valued at $800, was selected. Plans for a brick building, 
to cost approximately $0,000, were secured and the erection of the 
building was begun in July, 1911. The building contains four large 
classrooms, with accompanying cloakrooms, principal's office, a 
library room, and hallways. When the needs and conditions demand 
it. an addition can be built without marring in any way the archi- 
tectural effect of the building. 

As there was some opposition to a bond issue for building pur- 
poses, the board of directors decided to erect the building without the 
issuance of bonds. They have so far adhered to this decision, and 
while the district is in debt the board thinks that in another year or 
two it will be free of debt. Meanwhile a good school is being main- 
tained. 

School in the consolidated district opened in September, 1911. 
The building had not been completed and school was begun in a 
church. 

A wagonette was bought by the district and a transportation route 
arranged. The wagonette has capacity for 30 children and cost 
$289.54. The transportation route was so arranged that 26 children 
could be conveyed to the school, the wagonette making a distance of 
11 miles on the round trip. A thoroughly responsible driver was 
secured, a man who had children of his own to be carried to school. 
The amount paid the driver per month was $57.90; he furnished his 
own team and paid all the costs of keeping it. The district agreed 
to pay for all needed repairs on the wagonette. For the year, $1.50 
was paid out for repairs. 

At first there was considerable opposition to the idea of transporta- 
tion. It was urged that such a thing as transportation of children 
was not practicable. Some parents did not want their children to go 
so far away from home to school, but they soon found that it was 
enti rely practicable. 



MACDONALD CONSOLIDATION MOVEMENT IN CANADA. 89 

There were two teachers at first, a principal and an assistant, who 
was the principal's wife. The enrollment at the beginning of the 
school was only 74, but it grew rapidly. A third teacher was soon 
required. The school made application to the State board of educa- 
tion for State aid as a two-year State high school. The aid was 
granted and the board of directors employed a third teacher. 

At the close of the year the enrollment had reached 170, distributed 
as follows: First grade, 16; second grade 15; third, 12; fourth, 17; 
fifth, 18; sixth, 22; seventh, 19; high-school grades, 51. The daily 
attendance averaged approximately 80 per cent of the enrollment. 

Accurate statistics as to the cost of maintaining the schools before 
the formation of the consolidated school are not available, and for 
this reason no real comparison can be made of the relative costs of 
maintenance of the small district schools with that of the consolidated 
school. The gross expenditures for school purposes for the first 
year of the consolidated school, as reported, were $2,186, or a total 
of $12.86 per enrolled child. 

With a larger and better school, there has come a splendid school 
spirit, both on the part of the children and patrons. Games of 
various kinds were provided for the children, and school life became 
attractive and inviting to the child. The people are proud of their 
school and are enthusiastically supporting it. 

The population has materially increased as a result of the estab- 
lishment of the consolidated school. Property values have steadily 
risen. Lots that formerly sold for $50 are to-day bringing $200. 
The whole community life has been touched and quickened. 



VII. MACDONALD CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL MOVEMENT 

IN CANADA. 

By C. H. Lane, Chief Specialist in Agricultural Education, TJ. S. Office of 

Experiment Stations. 

This was a movement for the improvement of Canadian rural 
.schools. Four consolidated rural schools, as object lessons, were pro- 
vided by the Macdonald rural school fund, one in each of the four 
Provinces — Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince 
Edward Island. 

They were located at places chosen or approved by the provincial 
departments of education. In each case a new building was erected 
to take the place of the small schools which at that time were serving 
the sections proposed to be consolidated. They were equipped with 
ordinary classrooms and assembly halls, and also for manual train- 
ing, household science, and nature study, and school gardening. A 



90 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

consolidated school board was elected according to the school law of 
of the Province concerned. . 

THE SCHOOL AT MIDDLETON, NOVA SCOTIA. 

The school in Nova Scotia was opened at Middleton in September, 
1903. The proposition made to the people in and about the town of 
Middleton relative to the establishment of a Macdonald consolidated 
school, by Dr. James W. Eobertson, agent for the Sir William C. 
Macdonald school fund, was that if eight sections would unite and 
contribute an amount equal to the average payment by each indi- 
vidual section during three previous years for school purposes the 
fund would build, equip, and assist to maintain for three years a 
school in the town of Middleton, where in addition to the subjects 
generally taught in the common and high schools at Nova Scotia, 
there should be taught manual training, home economics, and agri- 
culture. A school garden was also to be established in connection 
with the school for the purpose of teaching practical agriculture and 
carrying out experiments in agricultural operations. The children 
from the surrounding sections or school districts should be conveyed 
to and from the consolidated school in school vans. 

This agreement was ratified by the Nova Scotia legislature. There 
were then built out of the Macdonald fund a brick and stone building 
and a large barn for the sheltering of the vans and van horses. The 
fund also furnished the necessary equipment for the school. The 
original cost was about $25,000. In addition Dr. Robertson contrib- 
uted from the Macdonald fund a sufficient fund to defray all the ex- 
penses required over and above the amount contributed by the indi" 
vidual school districts. For the first year this cost the Macdonald 
fund nearly $8,000. One item, that of conveying the children to and 
from the school, during the first year, was $5,377; it was slightly 
less during the next three years. The average yearly draft upon the 
Macdonald fund during the first three years for all school purposes 
was about $7,500, while the total amount from other sources during 
each year was about $3,300. Hence, the school was run at an expense 
of nearly $11,000 a year. 

According to Mr. G. B. McGill, first principal of this school, the 
school was ideal in its purposes. The comparatively large staff of 
teachers, together with all needed apparatus, was sufficient to make 
it greatly superior to any of the individual country schools. The 
school soon became justly popular. A better s^ystem of classifica- 
tion of pupils contributed to more thorough classroom work. The 
manual training and home economics department became A r ery at- 
tractive, not only to pupils, but to parents as well, and lent a new 
interest to school life. The large school garden was by no means 
the least interesting and valuable. Here the pupils conducted their 



MACDONALD CONSOLIDATION MOVEMENT IN CANADA. 91 

miniature farms with some interest and a profit. Demonstration 
plats were also arranged and cared for by the pupils under the 
supervision of the principal. The school, too, maintained a large- 
cadet corps, which achieved some proficiency in military drill. 
During these years nature study was a very prominent feature of 
the school and did much to give a new life to school work. 

The pupils, in a large measure, appreciated the changed conditions. 
They seemed interested and happy in their work. It is worthy of 
note, says Mr. McGill, that notwithstanding the additional work en- 
tailed upon the pupils by the introduction of manual training, 
home economics, and agriculture, they were enabled at the end of each 
school year to obtain better results than in former years from the 
provincial examinations on the purely scholastic subjects formerly 
taught alone in the public schools. 

A new agreement was effected for the second three years of con- 
solidation whereby Dr. Robertson donated out of the Macdonald 
fund $400 for each individual school district that remained in con- 
solidation. The various districts unitedly were to defray all other 
expenses. The new school board,* by reducing the number of teachers 
and eliminating certain other expenses, were enabled to continue 
the school, with results quite similar to that of the first three-year 
period. 

At the end of this period all help from the Macdonald fund was 
withdrawn, in consequence of which several school districts, except 
one small district adjacent to the town of Middleton, withdrew to 
their former conditions of school work, not, however, without some 
notion of new ideas in educational methods. One of the original 
outside school districts Continues sending in all its pupils. One 
other district has made spasmodic efforts to rejoin the Middleton 
consolidated school, but the cost of conveying the children has been 
the great difficulty in the way of continuation. Thus the district 
which was unable to maintain a public school on a local cost of 
about $125 would require $600 a year to convey the school children 
of that district to and from a consolidated school. The entire cost 
of a school in such a district, including municipal and provincial 
grants, would be less than $300. 

The present Middleton Macdonald school continues the depart- 
ments of manual training and home economics. Strange to say, the 
agricultural work of the school has been abandoned, and the study 
of classics more generally introduced. As Mr. McGill declares, there. 
can be no doubt that the manual training, home economics, and 
agricultural work of the school contributed toward the building up 
of great interest and improvement in rural life, and it was this that 
Sir William O. Macdonald had in view when he made his generous 
donation for the establishment of the school. 



92 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Dr. McKay, superintendent of schools for Nova Scotia, writes: 

It looks very much at present as if it is easier to provide a teacher and a 
small sehoolhouse than to transport the school 3 or 4 miles to a well-graded 
educational institution; and because it is cheaper, it is considered to be better. 
There is need of education on the difference in value between the cheap miscel- 
laneous rural school and the well-graded village school. I find also that pupils 
become tired of starting so much earlier in the morning in order to be ready 
for the vans .-aid of the monotony of the ride in the van both to and from the 
sehoolhouse. They :ippear to enjoy the freedom of traveling on the road a short 
distance better than an enforced long ride every day. 

We find it to work at present only in attaching a small settlement which can 
hardly support a school by itself to the nearest school center. That means, 
as a rule, that our consolidations consist of the union of one or two small sec- 
tions with a central one. This we find to be useful, and every year a few more 
of such small consolidations are organized. 

TUP: NEW BRUNSWICK SCHOOL. 

The New Brunswick school is located at Kingston, a village about 
25 miles east from St. John. The village is 8 miles from the railroad, 
situated on the top of a hill, and contains a few neat farmhouses, 
a church, and the Kingston Macdonald consolidated school. The 
school was opened in September, 1904, and served an area that Avas 
formerly seven rural school districts. Kingston, of all the towns in 
New Brunswick, was selected for this demonstration because few 
places could offer more natural obstacles to the success of such an 
enterprise. 

All the districts which voted to consolidate were ordinary country 
localities, sparsely settled. Some of them maintained school only 
part of the year. In many the schoolkouses were poor and ill- 
equipped. The consolidated districts were to contribute what they 
had been paying for school purposes in the past. The Macdonald 
fund was to pay all additional cost for three years. At the end of 
that time the people Avere to decide by vote whether to continue 
the consolidated school and assume the entire responsibility for its 
support or to go back to the isolated, meagerly equipped, poorly 
taught one-room district schools. This school also received annually 
provincial grants, as does other consolidated schools of a similar 
character, to the extent of $1,000 and one-half the cost of the trans- 
portation of the pupils. 

The Macdonald building is a commodious structure Avell placed in 
a lot of about 3 acres. Near the road the grounds are laid off with 
gravel Avalks and well-kept lawns and planted with numerous shade 
trees brought from the Avoods and set out by the pupils. Back of the 
building is a playground and a school garden and orchard. At one 
side is a long low stable Avith seven doors, each large enough to admit 
a pair of horses and a van. The basement of the building is large 



MACDONALD CONSOLIDATION MOVEMENT IN CANADA. 93 

and airy and is used as a playroom in bad weather. On the firs! floor 
are two rooms for the younger pupils, a storeroom, and a manual- 
training room well equipped with benches and tools. On the second 
floor are two rooms for the more advanced pupils, a laboratory, a 
library, and a room for household science, which includes sewing, 
cooking, laundry work, home nursing, and sanitation. Under the 
roof is a spacious assembly room. The pupils are conveyed from 
their homes in vans. 

The enrollment in the seven districts before consolidation was 125 ; 
after consolidation it arose to 1G6 the first term and 175 the second 
term. While the average attendance in the nonconsolidated schools 
was 44 per cent of the enrollment, after consolidation it arose at once 
to 84 per cent. In considering these figures it must be borne in mind 
that the school year is 40 weeks long, and the services of the older 
children are quite as valuable at home as in other farming communi- 
ties. Although 140 children out of a total of 160 had to be collected 
daily over routes varying from 3 to 5 miles each way, in the unusualty 
severe winter of 1904 on no day was the attendance less than 50 per 
cent, and in the winter of 1905 no van was late. 

In speaking of this particular school, Mr. R. P. Steeves, director of 
elementary agricultural education in New Brunswick, says that the 
school has been entirely successful from the outset and has done ex- 
cellent work. Man}' - pupils began the foundation of a good education 
which after graduation they continued either at normal school, col- 
lege, or other institutions. Many pupils who have been successful in 
various lines would doubtless under the old system never have arisen 
above grade 4. The difference between the course of study here 
and in the ordinary country school is sufficiently suggested by the 
difference in equipment. The orchard, the grafting tools, the prun- 
ing knives, the spraying apparatus, the kitchen with all of its house- 
hold implements, the sewing tables, the benches and tools, and the 
laboratory for indoor work in winter — all utterly foreign to the ordi- 
nary school — are here for a definite use. 

At the end of the three years (1907) all the districts voted to con- 
tinue the consolidation, and Sir William C. MacDonald continued 
his financial assistance to the extent of $1,200 a year for three years. 
After two years under this plan the building was burned. Before 
rebuilding the entire scheme was again submitted to the people, when 
it was decided to enter into a regular legal consolidation, all the 
several districts being merged into one, under the management of a 
trustee board. This is the present organization. The Macdonald as- 
sistance has been withdrawn entirely, and the school is supported by 
the people and grants from the provincial government. 

There are only three on the school staff at present. All the indus- 
trial subjects, however, are continued. The fact that last spring the 



94 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

pupil making the highest average in grade S for the county was a 
regular attendant at this school, shows, according to Mr. Steeves, 
that the ordinary subjects of instruction are not neglected. The 
expenses of the school have considerably increased. The school tax 
is now upward of $2 on $100 of assessable valuation of property. 
The total assessable valuation of the entire district is under $80,000. 
Mr. Steeves writes: 

From this experiment I am fully convinced of the advantages of consolida- 
tion. The cost will be greater, but real value is obtained for the money. The 
fact that twice after the Macdonald school was established the people affirmed 
the principle and continued the school shows that its value is recognized. 
Many who have no children to send to school complain of the tax. but most of 
them admit that the school is a credit. 

As a test of consolidation the Kingston experiment was a severe 
one. The population is sparse, and consequently the distance the 
vans travel is long. The roads are quite rocky and hilly, the ex- 
pense of conveyance is heavy, and the winters are cold. 

In more favorable localities, with a small number of vans for con- 
veyance, and more level country, the scheme should prove just as 
advantageous educationally and not so expensive. 

It may be of interest to note the general attitude of the people of 
this Province toward the matter of consolidation. In the report of 
the special agricultural commission appointed in 1908 to inquire into 
the agricultural conditions of the Provinces and the means of im- 
proving them, the question of consolidated schools was considered. 
A series of questions dealing with the matter was sent to the boards 
of trustees of the 1,420 rural school districts. Replies were received 
from 219. Of these, 24 districts would support consolidated schools, 
106 districts were not in favor of such schools, 22 districts expressed 
themselves as willing to submit to higher taxation for consolidation 
purposes, and 117 districts did not want higher taxation for such 
purposes. So far as the schools answering represent all of the dis- 
tricts, this shows that only about 20 per cent of the trustees of the 
New Brunswick schools five years ago favored iliis method of im- 
proving the status of the rural schools. 

THE SCHOOL AT GT T ELPH, ONTARIO. 

The Macdonald consolidated school at Guelph, Ontario, com- 
menced in November, 1904, under practically the same conditions 
financially as those organized in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 
Five districts were consolidated : three have withdrawn, so at the 
present time two districts comprise the consolidation, with about 40 
additional pupils from the surrounding districts in attendance. 
These five districts were rural districts surrounding the city of 



MACDONALD CONSOLIDATION MOVEMENT IN CANADA. 95 

Guelph, which is an independent school district and was not included 
in the consolidation. Children from the three districts withdrawing 
were conveyed across the city to the new school. That the school 
won the approval of parents is evidenced in the fact that at the close 
of the three-year trial period, when the vote to decide whether or not 
to continue in consolidation was taken, only one rate payer with 
children at school in three retiring districts voted for withdrawal. 
In every case there was only a small majority against continuing, 
even with the necessity for increased taxation before the rate payers. 

The kind of education which this school was established to demon- 
strate still continues. The pupils receive special instruction in ele- 
mentary agriculture, home economics, and manual training. With 
the approval of the Ontario department of education, the continua- 
tion classes have adapted their studies especially to fit the needs of the 
home and the farm. 

In discussing this form of education a bulletin of the Ontario Agri- 
cultural College at Guelph states that — 

while the principle of consolidation has been confirmed in undoubted pedagogical 
successes, these two educational reformers (Sir William C. Macdonald and Dr. 
James W. Robertson) have been in advance of their times. None of these Prov- 
inces was ready to incorporate into its body educationally the highly organized 
rural graded school that had met with a large and favorable acceptance in an- 
other country. 

In explaining the apparent failure of this form of education, it w T as 
felt that the condition of the rural schools of Ontario was .not so bad 
as to require any large change in organization. The rural people are 
conservative. They were getting for their children as good an edu- 
cation as thejr wanted for them. They bad not arrived at the point 
where they considered industrial subjects of any special significance 
in the education of their children. The experience of six years with 
a consolidated school was not a sufficient force to create a public 
sentiment which would sustain and expand the plan of consolidation. 
It is thought by some that it would have been better to have begun 
the schools on a smaller scale, taking in fewer school districts, and 
although it would have prevented possibly the most satisfactory in- 
troduction of elementary agriculture, home economics, and manual 
training teaching, it would greatly have lessened the costliness of the 
experiment and saved the hardest criticism of it — the increased 
expense. 

THE SCHOOL ON PIUNCE EDWARD ISLAND. 

The Macdonald consolidated school on Prince Edward Island was 
opened early in the summer of 1905 at Hillsboro. Prior to this time 
each of the six districts consolidated had a one-room rural school 



96 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

for the education of its children. The buildings in most cases were 
uninviting and the surroundings bare and cheerless. Boys over 12 
years of age usually attended only a few months in the winter. Ac- 
cording to a report of this school, issued in 1910, individual taxes in 
the original six districts ranged from 120 cents to $5.20. The average 
contribution by the rate payers was but 11 cents on $100 property 
valuation, and the total salaries received by the six teachers amounted 
to $1,190. 

For the first three years the six districts contributed nearly their 
previous assessment on property valuation, but at the expiration of 
that time three of the six districts remained in consolidation and 
agreed to pay 40 cents on the $100 valuation. There was a volun- 
tary fee of $2 per pupil for the first three in the family. Pupils 
from outside districts paid a tuition fee of $5. In addition to this 
the school received a statutory grant from the provincial government. 
Sir William C. Macdonald contributed $1,200 as a lump sum, and 
the deficit was made up by Dr. James W. Robertson. 

Courses of study at the school included, in addition to what was 
given in the original six schools, school gardening and nature study, 
manual training, home economics, drawing, and physical culture. 
All these subjects were taught by specially trained teachers. 

During 1908-0 the work of the school was done by five teachers, 
but in 1910 an extra teacher was appointed so that the principal 
might be free to put on a special course for farmers' sons. This 
special course for farmers' sons included, in addition to the regular 
academic subjects of an ordinary school, live stock, poultry, dairying, 
farm crops, agricultural botany, horticulture, farm chemistry, 
physics, and manual training. 

While this school from the outset was apparently successful in 
bringing about the form of education which its promoters had in 
mind, the superintendent of education of the Province writes, under 
date of August 27. 1913: 

I regret very much to have to inform you that the .Macdonald consolidated 
school at Hillsboro has been closed for over a year. It did excellent work 
during the several years in which it was in operation and fulfilled the highest 
expectations of its promoters, but the school districts in which it was located 
did not seem to appreciate its advantages to the extent of being willing to 
contribute sufficiently to the expenses of running it, and. therefore, as soon 
as Sir William C. Macdonald and Dr. James W. Robertson withdrew their sup- 
port (June 30, 1911) the school was allowed to close. The result is that the 
commodious building and excellent equipment remain idle, while the little 
one-room district schools are vainly attempting to do the work of educating 
the boys and girls of the community. * * * I am convinced that consoli- 
dation is the remedy for most of our educational disabilities, and I am not 
without the hope that the Macdonald consolidated school will yet be reopened. 



THE HAELEM (iLL.) CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 97 

VIII. AGRICULTURE AND DOMESTIC SCIENCE IN THE 
HARLEM (ILL.) CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 

By C. C. Burns, Principal. 

The Harlem consolidated school, 6 miles north of Rockford, 111.. 
is the pioneer consolidated school in Winnebago County in estab- 
lishing a course of study embracing agriculture, domestic science, 
and manual training. These advantages Avere made possible by the 
consolidation of four one-room country schools in April, 1910. 

The petitions making possible consolidation were signed by 64 
electors in favor of the movement and 16 against it. The trustees 
voted unanimously to consolidate, and an election was held to bond 
the district for $17,700, which was carried. A school board was 
elected, and its first act was the adoption of a ride to employ only 
teachers who were either normal school or college graduates. 

The consolidated school district comprises about 16 sections of land 
along the Rock River and an interurban electric car line. It is about 
3 miles wide in the widest part and 9 miles long. The valuation of 
the taxable property last year was $489,000. 

The Harlem consolidated school has steadily grown and pros- 
pered. It is now in the fifth year of its existence, and has its 
equipment fairly complete and its course of study determined. 

The course of study in agriculture begins in the seventh grade 
and is continued in the eighth grade. This follows a course of nature 
study beginning in the first grade. In the first year the child takes 
stock of what he knows about the things in the world out of doors. 
Later mor6 particular studies of the earth, sky, animals, and plants 
are taken and work in gardens is begun. Every spring penny pack- 
ets of seeds are bought by the children. Any child in the school may 
have a home garden, and practically all do have them. The nature 
study is a preparation for the agriculture that follows and for the 
science in the high school. 

The course of study for agriculture in the seventh and eighth 
grades declares — 

An attempt is made to interest the pupils in the chief industry of the com- 
munity by a direct study of plants, animals, soil, and the conditions of agricul- 
ture rather than by mere textbook work. 

The seasonable sequence of farm operations is taken advantage of. Thus the 
subject of weeds, plant diseases, farm crops, corn judging, and silos are taken 
up during the fall, when such operations are of most interest on the farm. 

During the late fall and winter farm animals are studied. 

With early spring comes the testing of seeds, the care of hotbeds, followed by 
the study of the favorable conditions of plant and soil. 

School and home-garden work is carried on during the spring and summer 
months. A fair is held each fall. 

61454°— 14 7 



98 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

The first summer of the school-garden work the children were or- 
ganized into committees, two or three children visiting the school 
garden each week during vacation and taking proper care of it. The 
garden was in beautiful condition in the fall. 

The next summer practically all the children had home gardens 
requiring their attention, and it was voted best to pull up the school 
garden rather than let it go to weeds. 

The organization of the home-garden work has been fairly com- 
plete here. The sense of ownership which home gardens engender, 
together with the possible profit to the child financially, make them 
popular. The convenience of the home garden is another advantage 
over the school garden. Work in the home garden can be done at 
odd moments, and many times children help provide vegetables for 
the home in this way. Parents become interested in the work of 
the child and oftentimes give necessary supervision. 

The greatest good which the home-garden work has done here is 
to connect the home and the school. This has been brought about 
by the fair held each fall at the school. The grange in this commu- 
nity had held fairs each fall probably since its organization, in 1873. 
I suggested that we hold our fair together and call it a community 
fair. The plans were carried out successfully in every way. The 
next year I asked two farmers of the community to help me Avith 
our arrangements, which they did. In connection with the part of 
the children's gardens the grange and the people of the community 
Avere to take, I proposed that we hold a plowing match and an all-day 
picnic for the entire community. In spite of bad weather in the 
morning, the fair was a success. Following the work up, it was 
proposed that a permanent organization be formed and officers 
elected to take entire charge. Last March a community meeting was 
held at the school and officers elected, with a special committee of 
the older boys and girls to take charge of their part of the fair. 

Agriculture in the high school naturally divides itself into four 
im its — plants, animals, soils, and farm management. In the course 
of study a half year's Avork in each unit is required of the boys for 
graduation. One year's work in manual training is also required, 
one-half the time for mechanical drawing and the other half with 
practical woodwork. 

Boys specially desiring more work in agriculture may receive 
another semester's work in plant husbandry and one in animal hus- 
bandry. 

Tavo years of agriculture are required, with one year elective, and 
one year of manual training, which we expect to revise and improve 
so that it will really be a course in farm mechanics. 



THE HARLEM (iLL.) CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 99 

The work in agriculture is arranged so that the student may re- 
ceive training in the regular high-school sciences before taking up 
the agricultural work. 

The science work other than agriculture is as follows: General 
science throughout the freshman year, botany and physiology dur- 
ing the second year, chemistry in the third, and physics in the fourth 
year. 

General science is outlined to include five main features: (1) The 
air; (2) ice. steam, and water; (3) work and energy; (4) the earth's 
crust; and (5) living things. The most excellent results, we believe, 
are being obtained in general science as foundation work for all 
science work. 

During the second year botany is given. The fundamental prin- 
ciples of plant life are taught. The work is a preparation for the 
work with plants, fruits, and grain study in agriculture. In. the 
botany class the economic plants where applicable to the point in 
hand are used. 

Chemistry in the third year precedes the work in soils by a full sem- 
ester. The second semester of chemistry deals with agricultural prob- 
lems and with foods to such an extent as to make the course practical, 
interesting, applicable, and of such a nature that the student will 
realize and connect up its relations to everyday life. 

Physics has many points of interest for farm boys. The course in 
electricity is made especially strong. 

The study of plant husbandry the first semester of the third year 
in high school gives much more satisfactory class work than if placed 
earlier in the course. This is due to the previous preparation in 
science, especially in botany. 

Cooking and sewing are taught in the seventh and eighth grades. 
Practical usable things are made. The girls are encouraged to apply 
the problems at home. Lessons of economy are taught in both cook- 
ing and sewing. 

The domestic-science teacher in a rural community must have her 
subject well in hand to be able to lead in her work, as she will be 
called upon to do a broader work than merely teach her class. If she 
is the very best, she will feel this herself. Country women, especially 
in communities so far in advance of the average as to have a con- 
solidated school, are very able and well informed. The domestic- 
science teacher should be able to cooperate with them and lead in 
their work in the community. A girls' home-economics club to con- 
nect up the school and the home is of help. Such a club has been 
formed here. This club has been useful in making money, in provid- 
ing socials, and in serving luncheons at different times to the school 
board and members of the community. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS* 

(Prepared by Library Division. Bureau of Education.) 



Arkansas. Education commission. Consolidation of rural schools. Little 
Rock, Arkansas. December, 1910. lip. 8°. (Its Bulletin no. 3) 

Bedichek, Una and Baskett, G. T. The consolidation of rural schools with 
and without transportation. 2d ed. rev. by A. C. Ellis. Austin, Texas, 
University of Texas [1907] 85 p. illus. 8°. (Bulletin of the University 
of Texas, no. 96) 
Bibliography : p. 48. 

A discussion of the situation in Texas and the practical experiences with con- 
solidation in other states. 

Betts, George Herbert and Hall, Otis E. Consolidation and rural school 
efficiency. In their Better rural schools. Indianapolis, The Bobbs-Merrill 
company [1914] p. 215-325. 

Brogden, Latjtrec C. Consolidation of schools and public transportation of 
pupils. Raleigh, Issued from Office of superintendent of public instruction 
of North Carolina, 1911. 135 p. illus. 8°. (Educational bulletin xvii) 

Burnham, Ernest. Two types of rural schools, with some facts showing eco- 
nomic and social conditions. New York city, Teachers college, Columbia 
university, 1912. 129 p. 8°. (Teachers college, Columbia university. Con- 
tributions to education, no. 51) 

Carney, Mabel. Consolidated country schools. In her Country life and the 
country school. Chicago, Row, Peterson and company [1912] p. 14S-87. 

Carrington, George D. Consolidation of rural school districts. Cost of central 
high school. Free transportation of pupils. Auburn, Nebr., 190S. 16 p. 
illus. S°. (Nemaha county, Superintendent of schools. Bulletin no. 3) . 

Consolidation of schools and the transportation of pupils. Western journal of 
education, n. s. 8 : 421-501, June 1903. 

Special number on this subject. Contains articles by Bllwood P. Cubberley, 
p. 421 ; Superintendent Kern, p. 437 ; Elmer E. Brown, p. 495 ; Hugh J. Baldwin, 
p. 496, etc. 

Ctp.berley, Ellwood P. Consolidation in central schools. In Ms Rural life 
and education. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin company, 1914. 
p. 230-55. 

— Consolidation of schools. In A cyclopedia of education, ed. by Paul 

Monroe. Vol. 2. New York, The Macmillan co., 1911. p. 185-S9. 

[Davenport, E.] Consolidation of country schools. 2d ed. [Urbana, 111.. 
1904] 50 p. S°. (University of Illinois bulletin, vol. 2, no. 3, December 
1, 1904) 

Eaton, William L. An account of the movement in Massachusetts to close 
the rural schools, and to transport their pupils, at public expense, to the 
village schools. Boston, N. Sawyer & son, printers, 1893. 8 p. 8°. 
Massachusetts school exhibit, World's Columbian exposition. 

101 



102 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TEANSPOETING PUPILS. 

Eggleston, J. D. and Bruere, Robert W. Consolidation and transportation. 

In their The work of the rural school. New York and London, Harper & 

brothers, 1913. p. 173-92. 
Fairchild, E. T. Consolidation of rural schools. American education, 12 : 

121-33, November 1908. 

Reasons why they 'should be consolidated. 

Foght, Harold W. Consolidation of rural schools. In his American rural 
school. New York, The Macmillan company, 1910. p. 302-33. 

Fowler, William K. Consolidation of rural schools. In National education 
association. Journal of proceedings and addresses, 1903. p. 919-29. 
• Bibliography : p. 924-29. 
Gives 29 arguments for, 12 against. 

The consolidation of school districts; the centralization of rural 

schools; and the transportation of pupils at public expense. Lincoln, 
Nebr.. 1903.. 24 p. 8°. (Nebraska. Department of public instruction, 1903) 

Graham, Albert B. Centralized schools in Ohio. Columbus, Ohio state uni- 
versity, 1909. 24 p. illus. 8°. (Ohio. Agricultural college. Extension 
bulletin, vol. 1, no. 5, February 1906) 

Hanifan, L. J. Facts and fallacies about consolidation of schools in West 
Virginia. Charleston, W. Va., Department of free schools [1914] 16 p. 
illus. 8°. 

Hays, Willet Martin. Consolidated rural schools. In American association 
of farmers' institute workers. Proceedings, 1905. Washington, Govern- 
ment printing office, 1906. p. 53-59. 
Bibliography : p. 56-59. 

Hugh, David D. Bulletin concerning rural schools and their consolidation. 
Greeley, State normal school of Colorado, 1909. 38 p. illus. 8°. (Bulle- 
tin, series IX, no. 4^ 
Bibliography : p. 32-38. 

Illinois. Department of public instruction. The one room and consoli- 
dated country schools of Illinois. 4th ed. 1914. 120 p. illus. 8°. (Cir- 
cular no. 76) 

Indiana. Department of public instruction. Consolidation of rural schools. 
In its Biennial report . . . 1911-1912. Indianapolis, W. B. Burford, con- 
tractor for state printing and binding, 1913. p. 105-59. 

Kansas. Department of public instruction. Bulletin of information regard- 
ing consolidation of rural schools. Topeka, Kans., 1908. 4S p. illus. 
diagr. 8°. 

Kentucky. Department of education. Consolidation and transportation . . . 
Issued by Barksdale Hamlett, superintendent of public instruction, Frank- 
fort. [Louisville, Ky., The Bradley & Gilbert co., 1913] 93 p. illus. 8°. 
(Bulletin, vol. 6, no. 3, April 1913) 

Kern. O. J. Consolidation. In Ms Among country schools. Boston [etc.] 
Ginn and company [1906] p. 240-81. 

Consolidation of rural schools. Education, 26 : 14-26. September 1905. 

Report of a visit to the centralized schools of Ohio. October 1900. 2d 

ed. Rockford, 111., 1902. 38 p. illus. 8°. 

Knorr, George W. Consolidated rural schools and organization of a county 
system. Washington, Government printing office, 1910. 99 p. 8°. ( United 
States. Department of agriculture. Office of experiment stations. Bul- 
letin 232) 

■ A study of 15 consolidated rural schools; their organization, cost, 

efficiency, and affiliated interests. Washington, D. C, Southern education 
board, 1911. 55 p. illus. 8°. (Publication no. 6) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CONSOLIDATION". 103 

Kunkel, O. L. and Charters, W. W. Rural school consolidation in Missouri. 
Columbia, Mo., University of Missouri, 1911. 36 p. illus. 8°. (University 
of Missouri bulletin. Education series, vol. 1, no. 2) 
Bibliography: p. 35-36. 

Lake county, Ind. Consolidation of schools. In its Educational report, 1913. 
p. 68-81. 

Longsdorf, H. H. The consolidation of country schools, and the transporta- 
tion of the scholars by use of vans. Harrisburg, Pa., Win. Stanley Ray, 
State printer, 1901. 89 p. 8°. (Pennsylvania. Department of agriculture. 
Bulletin no. 71) 

Louisiana. Department of education. The consolidation of school districts, 
the centralization of rural schools and the transportation of pupils at 
public expense . . . [Baton Rouge. 1906] 71 p. illus. 8°. 
" References for information " : p. 64-71. . 

Manitoba. Department of education. Consolidation of rural schools in 
Manitoba. Special report . . . 1913. 43 p. 8°. 

Michigan. Department of public instruction. Consolidation of school dis- 
tricts in Michigan. [Lansing, 1906] 23 p. illus. 8°. (Bulletin no. 19. 
1906) 

Mississippi. Department of education. Part I. Consolidation of schools 
and transportation of pupils. Part II. County agricultural high schools, 
with course of study . . . Prepared and issued by J. N. Powers, state 
superintendent of public education. May 1913. Jackson, Miss., Jones ptg. 
co. [1913] 68 p. illus. S°. (Its Bulletin no. 8, 1913) 

Monahan, A. C. Consolidation of rural schools, Atlantic educational jour- 
nal, 9 : 169-72. 215-17, 247-49, 293-94, January to April 1914. 

Contexts. — I. History and extent of the movement.— II. Advantages of con- 
solidation. — III. Transportation ' at public expense. — IV. How consolidation is 
effected. 

Nebraska. Department of public instruction. The consolidation of rural 
schools ... E. C. Bishop, state superintendent. Lincoln, 1910. 39 p. 
illus. 8°. 

Consolidation of schools. In its School buildings and grounds 

in Nebraska. Lincoln. 1902. p. 228-65. 

North Dakota. State board of education. The consolidation of rural schools 
in North Dakota. Prepared by N. C. Macdonald . . . Devils Lake, N. D., 
Journal publishing co., state printers, 1913. 33 p. illus. S°. 

Nova Scotia. Superintendent of education of the public schools. The 
Macdonald consolidated school. In his Annual report, 1903. Halifax. 
N. S., King's printer, 1904. p. xxv-xxxiii. illus. plans, tables. 

Oklahoma. State board of education. Rural school consolidation ; a bulle- 
tin of information issued by the Oklahoma state board of education, 1911. 
[n. p. 1911] 29 p. illus. 8°. 

Phillips, Eugene M. Consolidation of rural schools in Minnesota . . . Issued 
by the Department of public instruction, C. G. Schulz, superintendent. [St. 
Paul? 1913] 50 p. illus. 8°. (Bulletin no. 41) 

Prince, John T. Consolidation of rural schools. In National education asso- 
ciation. Journal of proceedings and addresses, 1903. p. 929-35. 

Probst, Albert Frederick. Consolidation and transportation. Elementary 
school teacher, 9 : 1-16, September 1908. illus. 

Schmidt, C. C. The consolidation of rural schools in North Dakota. Grand 
Forks, N. D., University of North Dakota, 1912. 85 p. illus. 12° (Uni- 
versity of North Dakota. Departmental bulletins. Education, no. 3, Octo- 
ber 1912) 

" References " : p. 84-85. 



104 CONSOLIDATING SCHOOLS AND TRANSPORTING PUPILS. 

Shabpe, William F. The bousing of consolidated schools in xtiral communities. 

Educator-journal, 12:3-17, September 1011. illus. plans. 

Stone, Mason S. Centralization of scbools. Act of 1906. State of Vermont. 
C p. 8°. (Vermont. Department of public instruction. Circular of in- 
formation no. 43) 

Tennessee. Department of public instruction. Bulletin of information 
regarding consolidation of scbools and transportation of pupils. Nash- 
ville! Tenn., MeQuiddy printing co., 1912. 103 p. 8°. 

Texas. Department of education. Consolidation of rural schools . . . Aus- 
tin. Texas. Austin printing company, 1912. 67 p. illus. 8°. (Its Bul- 
letin no. 15) 

True, A. C. Some problems of the common rural scbool. In United States. 
Department of agriculture. Yearbook. 1901. p. 133-54. 

United States. Bureau of education. Consolidation of scbools and trans- 
portation of pupils. In its Report of tbe Commissioner, 1900-1901. Wash- 
ington. Government printing office, 1002. p. 161-213. 

Upham, A. A. Transportation of rural scbool pupils at public expense. 
Educational review. 20 : 241-51. October 1900. 

Vermont. Department of education. 1. Closure of small scbools. 2. Con- 
solidation of scbools. April 1. 1906. St. Albans, Vt, Messenger company 
print, 1906. 20 p. 12°. (Circular of educational information, no. XIX) 

Washington. Department of education. Consolidation of rural scbools and 
transportation of pupils. Olympia, Wash., E. L. Boardman, public printer, 
1911. 120 p. illus. 8°. (Bulletin, no. 7, August 1, 1911) 
Prepared by J. M. Layhue. 

Winnebago county. III. Superintendent of schools. Consolidation of scbools 
in country life education. //; Ms Report. 1912. p. 47-66. 
See also earlier reports. 

Wisconsin. Department of education. Consolidation of scbool districts and 
transportation of rural scbool pupils at public expense. Madison, Demo- 
crat printing company, State printer, 1902. 20 p. illus. diagrs. 8°. 
(Its Bulletin of information, no. 7) 



INDEX. 



Agriculture, instruction, Harlem consolidated school, Illinois, 97-99. 

Alabama, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 34-35; consolidation of 

schools, 16. 
Arizona, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35; consolidation of 

schools, 16. 
Arkansas, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35; consolidation of 

schools, 16-17, 87-89. 
Bibliography, 101-104. 

Bond, J. L., Moto consolidated school, Arkansas, 87-89. 
Buruham, Ernest, The Comstock consolidated school, Michigan, 78-80. 
Burns, C. C, Agriculture and domestic science in the Harlem consolidated 

school, Illinois, 97-99. 
California, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35 ; consolidation of 

schools, 17. 
Canada, Macdonald consolidated school movement. 89-96. 
Centralization of schools, use of term in Ohio, 5. 
Classification of pupils, 61. 

Claxton, P. P., on consolidation of schools, 6, 68-69. 
Colorado, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35 ; consolidation of 

schools, 17 ; transportation of pupils, 52-53. 
Comstock consolidated school, Michigan, history and work, 78-80. 
Concord consolidated school, Massachusetts, early history, 9-10. 
Connecticut, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35; consolidation 

of schools, 17 ; consolidation of schools of Southington Township, 7 : trans- 
portation to school. 49-50. 
Consolidation of schools, educational advantages. 58-70; cost, 55-58; first in 

the United States. 7 ; meaning of term, 5 ; socializing influences, 65-67 ; 

types, 70-S9. 
Courses of study, agriculture and domestic science, 97-99; high schools, 64-65. 
Curran, Margaret C, Garfield consolidated school, Washington, 84-87. 
Delaware, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 35-36; consolidation 

of schools, 17. 
Domestic science, instruction, Harlem consolidated school, Illinois, 97-99. 
Driver, L. L., on high school departments in consolidated schools, Indiana, 65. 
Drivers, school conveyances, 45-46, 53-54. 

Eaton, W. L., on consolidation of schools in Massachusetts. 10-11. 
Eggleston, J. B.. on transportation in Virginia, 48. 
Farragut School, Concord, Tenn., socializing influences, 66-67. 
Florida, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 36; consolidation of 

schools, 17. 
Gaither, R. F., on consolidation in Kentucky, 59; on the work of the Mays 

Lick consolidated school. Mason County. Ky., 74-78. 
Garfield consolidated school, Washington, history and work. S4-87. 

105 



106 INDEX. 

Georgia, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 36; consolidation of 

schools, 17. 
Graham. A. B., on consolidation of schools in Ohio, 13; on transportation in 

Ohio, 50. 
Gnelph, Ontario, consolidated school, 94-95. 
High schools, courses of study, 64-65. 
Hillegas, M. B., on consolidation in Vermont, 59. 
History and extent of the movement, 5-26. 
Idaho, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 36; consolidation of 

schools. 17. 
Illinois, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 36 ; consolidation of schools. 

17-1S. 56-57. 97-99; transportation to school, 48-49. 
Indiana, high school departments in consolidated schools, 65, 64: classification 

of pupils, 61; consolidation and transportation, legislation, 36; consolidation 

of schools, 33-15. 18, 57-58; transportation to school, 44, 50-51. 53. 
Iowa, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 36-37; consolidation of 

schools, 18. 55-56; transportation of pupils, 51. 
Kansas, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 37: consolidation of 

schools, 19. 
Kentucky, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 37; consolidation of 

schools. 7, 19. 59. 70-7S. 
Lane, C. H., Macdonald consolidated school movement. 89-96. 
Larson. W. E., The Port Wing consolidated school. Wisconsin, 80-82. 
Legislation. State, concerning consolidation and transportation, 26-43. 
Louisiana, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 37: consolidation of 

schools. 7, 15-16, 19: transportation of pupils. 51-52. 
McDonald, N. C. on consolidation of schools. 69. 
Macdonald consolidated school movement, Canada, 89-96. 
Maine, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 37: consolidation of schools, 

19-20. 
Maryland, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 37; consolidation of 

schools. 20. 
Massachusetts, aggregate cost of conveyance, 12; consolidation and transporta- 
tion, legislation, 38; consolidation of schools, 7-9, 11-12. 59. 
Mays Lick consolidated school. Mason County. Ky.. history and work. 74-78. 
Michigan, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 38; consolidation of 

schools. 20, 78-SO. 
Minnesota, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 31-34. 38; consolida- 
tion of schools, 15, 20-21. 
Mississippi, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 38: consolidation of 

schools. 21-22, 82-84. 
Missouri, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 38; consolidation of 

schools, 22. 
Montague consolidated school, Massachusetts, 8-9. 
Montana, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 38-39; consolidation of 

schools, 22. 
Moro consolidated school, Arkansas, history and work. 87-89. 
Nebraska, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 39. 
Nevada, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 39. 
New Brunswick, Canada, consolidated school. 92. 
New Hampshire, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 39. 
New Jersey, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 39-40: consolidation 

of schools, 22-23. 



INDEX. 107 

New Mexico, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 40. 

New Jersey, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 39— 10 ; consolidation 

schools. 23. 
North Carolina, consolidation of schools, 6, 23-24, 55; division of time between 

study and recitation. 62: rural supervision. 60. 
North Dakota, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 28-31. 
Nova Scotia, school at Middleton, 90-92. 
Ohio, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 40-41 ; consolidation of 

schools. 5-6, 13, 24; transportation to school, 50, 52; use of term "central- 
ization," 5. 
Oklahoma, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 41 ; consolidation of 

schools, 24. 
Ontario, consolidated school at Guelph, 94-95. 
Oregon, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 41; consolidation of 

schools, 24. 
Pennsylvania, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 41 : consolidation 

of schools, 24. 
Phillips, E. M., on transportation in Minnesota, 46. 
Port Wing consolidated school, Wisconsin, history and work. S0-S2. 
Prince Edward Island, consolidated school, 95-96. 
Recitation and study, division of time between, 61-63. 
Rhode Island, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 41; consolidation 

of schools, 24. 
Rhodes, McHenry. The Mays Lick consolidated school. Mason County. Ky., 

70-74. 
Rockwell, Seymour, on Montague consolidated school, Massachusetts, 8. 
Routes, transportation, 45. 
Rural supervision, 60-61. 
School work, vitalizing, 63-64. 
Socializing influences, consolidated schools, 65-67. 
Smith, W. H., The Wool Market consolidated school, Harrison County. Miss., 

82-84. 
South Carolina, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 41-42: consoli- 
dation of schools, 24. 
South Dakota, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 42. 
State legislation. See Legislation, State. 
Study and recitation, division of time between. 61-63. 
Supervision, rural, 60-61. 

Teachers, consolidated schools, permanency of tenure, 6S-69. 
Tennessee, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 42; consolidation of 

schools, 24-25, 55; division of time between study and recitation, 61-62; 

rural supervision, 60 ; socializing influences, consolidated schools, 66-67 ; 

transportation of pupils, 50, 52. 
Texas, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 42-13 ; consolidation of 

schools, 25. 
Transportation of children to school, early provisions for, Massachusetts, 

S-9 ; cost, 43-54. 
Minnesota, transportation to school, 46. 48, 51. 
Union schools. North Carolina, 6. 
Utah, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 43; consolidation of 

schools, 25. 
Vermont, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 43; consolidation of 

schools, 25, 59 ; transportation to school. 47-48, 51. 



108 



INDEX. 



Wagons, transportation to school. 46-48. 

Washington, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 28, 43; consolida- 
tion of schools, 15, 25, 84-87 ; transportation of pupils, 51. 

West Virginia, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 43; consolidation 
of schools. 25-26. 

Williams. Mabel C, on transportation in Tennessee, 50. 

Wisconsin, consolidation and transportation, legislation. 31, 43; consolidation 
of schools. 20, 80-82. 

Wool Market consolidated school, Harrison County, Miss., 82-84. 

Wyoming, consolidation and transportation, legislation, 43. 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

[Note.— With the exceptions indicated, the documents named below will be sent free of charge upon 
application to-the Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. Those marked with an asterisk (*) 
are no longer available for free distribution, but may be had of the Superintendent of Documents, Govern 
ment Printing Office, Washington, D. C, upon payment of the price stated. Remittances should be made 
in coin, currency, or money order. Stamps are not accepted. Documents marked with a dagger (t) are 
out of print.] 

1906. 

fNo. 1. Education bill of 1900 for England and Wales as it passed the House of Commons. Anna T. Smith. 
tNo. 2. German views of American education, with particular reference to industrial development. 

William N. Kallmann. 
*No. 3. State school systems: Legislation and judicial decisions relating to public education, Oct. 1, 1904, 

to Oct. 1, 1906. Edward C. Elliott. 15 cts. 

1907. 

fNo. 1. The continuation school in the United States. Arthur J. Jones. 

fNo. 2. Agricultural education, including nature study and school gardens. James R. Jewell. 

tNo. 3. The auxiliary schools of Germany. Six lectures by B. Maennel. 

tNo. 4. The elimination of pupils from school. Edward L. Thomdike. 

1908. 

tNo. 1. On the training of persons to teach agriculture in the public schools. Liberty H. Bailey. 

*No. 2. List of publications of the United States Bureau of Education, 1867-1907. 10 cts. 

*No. 3. Bibliography of education for 1907. James Ingersoll Wyer, jr., and Martha L. Phelps. 10 cts. 

tNo. 4. Music education in the United States; schools and departments of music. Arthur L. Manchester. 

*No. 5. Education in Formosa. Julcan H. Arnold. 10 cts. 

*No. 6. The apprenticeship system in its relation to industrial education. Carroll D. Wright. 15 cts. 

*No. 7. State school systems: II. Legislation and judicial decisions relating to public education, Oct. 1, 

1906, to Oct. 1, 1908. Edward C. Elliott. 30 cts. 
*No. 8. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by the 

State, 1907-8. 5 cts. 

1909. 

*No. 1. Facilities for study and research in the offices of the United States Government in Washington. 

Arthur T. Hadley. 10 cts. 
*No. 2. Admission of Chinese students to American colleges. John Fryer. 25 cts. 
*No. 3. Daily meals of school children. Caroline L. Hunt. 10 cts. 

tNo. 4. The teaching staff of secondary schools in the United States; amount of education, length of expe- 
rience, salaries. Edward L. Thomdike. 
No. 5. Statistics of public, society, and school libraries in 1908. 
*No. 6. Instruction in the fine and manual arts in the United States. A statistical monograph. Henry 

T. Bailey. 15 cts. 
No. 7. Index to the Reports of the Commissioner of Education, 1867-1907. 
*No. 8. A teacher's professional library. Classified list of 100 titles. 5 cts. 
*No. 9. Bibliography of education for 1908-9. 10 cts. 
No. 10. Education for efficiency in railroad service. J. Shirley Eaton. 

*No. 11. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by 
the State, 1908-9. 5 cts. 

1910. 

*No. 1. The movement for reform in the teaching of religion in the public schools of Saxony. Arley B. 

Show. 5 cts. 
No. 2. State school systems: III. Legislation and judicial decisions relating to public education, Oct. 1, 

1908, to Oct. 1, 1909. Edward C. Elliott. 
tNo. 3. List of publications of the United States Bureau of Education, 1867-1910. 
*No. 4. The biological stations of Europe. Charles A. Kofoid. 50 cts. 
tNo. 5. American schoolhouses. Fletcher B. Dresslar. 
tNo. 0. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by 

the State, 1909-10. 

I 



II BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

1911. 

*No. 1. Bibliography of science teaching. 5 cts. 

*No. 2. Opportunities for graduate study in agriculture in the United States. A. C. Monahan. 5 cts. 

*No. 3. Agencies for the improvement of teachers in service. William C. Ruediger. 15 cts. 

*No. 4. Report of the commission appointed to study the system of education in the public schools of 

Baltimore. 10 cts. 
*Xo. 5. Age and grade census of schools and colleges. George D. Strayer. 10 cts. 
*No. 6. Graduate work in mathematics in universities and in other institutions of like grade in the United 

States. 5 cts. 
tNo. 7. Undergraduate work in mathematics in colleges and universities. 
fNo. 8. Examinations in mathematics, other than those set by the teacher for his own classes. 

No. 9. Mathematics in the technological schools of collegiate grade in the United States. 
fNo. 10. Bibliography of education for 1909-10. 
fNo. 11. Bibliography of child study for the years 1908-9. 
|No. 12. Training of teachers of elementary and secondary mathematics. 
*No. 13. Mathematics in the elementary schools of the United States. 15 cts. 
*No. 14. Provision for exceptional children in the public schools. J. H. Van Sickle, Lightner Witmer, 

and Leonard P. Ayres. 10 cts. 
*No. 15. Educational system of China as recently reconstructed. Harry E. King. 10 cts. 
fNo. 16. Mathematics in the public and private secondary schools of the United States. 
fNo. 17. List of publications of the United States Bureau of Education, October, 1911. 
*No. 18. Teachers' certificates issued under general State laws and regulations. Harlan Updegraff. 20 cts. 

No. 19. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by 
the State, 1910-11. 

1912. 
*No. 1. A course ofstudy for the preparation of rural-school teachers. Fred Mutchler and W.J. Craig. 5cts. 
fNo. 2. Mathematics at West Point and Annapolis. 
*No. 3. Report of committee on uniform records and reports. 5 cts. 
*No. 4. Mathematics in technical secondary schools in the United States. 5 cts. 
*No. 5. A study of expenses of city school systems. Harlan Updegraff. 10 cts. 
*No. 6. Agricultural education in secondary schools. 10 cts. 
*No. 7. Educational status of nursing. M. Adelaide Nutting. 10 cts. 
*No. 8. Peace day. Pannie Fern Andrews. 5 cts. [Later publication, 1913, No. 12.] 
*No. 9. Country schools for city boys. William S. Myers. 10 cts. 
tNo. 10. Bibliography of education in agriculture and home economics. 
tNo. 11. Current educational topics, No. I. 

fNo. 12. Dutch schools of New Netherland and colonial New York. William H. Kilpatrick. 
*No. 13. Influences tending to improve the work of the teacher of mathematics. 5 cts. 
*No. 14. Report of the American commissioners of the international commission on the teaching of mathe- 
matics. 10 cts. 
tNo. 15. Current educational topics, No. II. 
tNo. 10. The reorganized school playground. Henry S. Curtis. 
*No. 17. The Montessori system of education. Anna T. Smith. 5 cts. 
tNo. 18. Teaching language through agriculture and domestic science. M. A. Leiper. 
*No. 19. Professional distribution of college and university graduates. Bailey B. Burritt. 10 cts. 
tNo. 20. Readjustment of a rural high school to the needs of the commimity. H. A. Brown. 
tNo. 21. Urban and rural common-school statistics. Harlan Updegraff and William R. Hood. 

No. 22. Public and private high schools. 

No. 23. Special collections in libraries in the United States. W. Dawson Johnston and Isadore G. Mudge. 
tNo. 24. Current educational topics, No. III. 

tNo. 25. List of publications of the United States Bureau of Education, 1912. 
tNo. 26. Bibliography of child study for the years 1910-1911. 

No. 27. History of public-school education in Arkansas. Stephen B. Weeks. 
*No. 28. Cultivating school grounds in Wake County, N. C. Zebulon Judd. 5 cts. 

No. 29. Bibliography of the teaching of mathematics, 1900-1912. David Eugene Smith and Charles 
Goldziher. 

No. 30. Latin-American universities and special schools. Edgar E. Brandon. 

No. 31. Educational directory, 1912. 

No. 32. Bibliography of exceptional children and their education. Arthur MacDonald. 
tNo. 33. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by 
the State. 1912. 

1913. 

No. 1. Monthly record of current educational publications, January, 1913. 
*No. 2. Training courses for rural teachers. A. C. Monahan and R. H. Wright. 5 cts. 
*No. 3. The teaching of modern languages in the United States. Charles H. Handschin. 15 cts. 
*No. 4. Present standards of higher education in the United States. George E. MacLean. 20 cts. 
tNo. 5. Monthly record of current educational publications. February, 1913. 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. Ill 

*No. 6. Agiicultural instruction in high schools. C. H. Robison and F. B. Jenks. 10 cts. 
fNo. 7. College entrance requirements. Clarence D. Kingsley. 

*No. 8. The status of rural education in the United States. A. C. Monahan. 15 cts. 
fNo. 9. Consular reports on continuation schools in Prussia. 
tNo. 10. Monthly record of current educational publications, March, 1913. 
fNo. 11. Monthly record of current educational publications, April, 1913. 
*No. 12. The promotion of peace. Fannie Fern Andrews. 10 cts. 

fNo. 13. Standards and tests for measuring the efficiency of schools or systems of schools. Report of the 
committee of the National Council of Education. George D. Strayer, chairman. 

No. 14. Agricultural instruction in secondary schools. 
fNo. 15. Monthly record of current educational publications, May, 1913. 
*No. 16. Bibliography of medical inspection and health supervision. 15 cts. 
*No. 17. A trade school for girls. A preliminary investigation in a typical manufacturing city, Worcester, 

Mass. 10 cts. 
*No. IS. The fifteenth international congress on hygiene and demography. Fletcher B. Dresslar. 10 cts. 
*No. 19. German industrial education and its lessons for the United States. Holmes Beekwith. 15 cts. 
*No. 20. Illiteracy in the United States. 10 cts. 

fNo. 21. Monthly record of current educational publications, June, 1913. 
*No. 22. Bibliography of industrial, vocational, and trade education. 10 cts. 
*No. 23. The Georgia Club at the State Normal School, Athens, Ga., for the study of rural sociology. E. C. 

Branson. 10 cts. 
*No. 24. A comparison of public education in Germany and in the United States. Georg Kerschensteiner. 

5 cts. 
*No. 25. Industrial education in Columbus, Ga. Roland B. Daniel. 5 cts. 
fNo. 26. Good roads arbor day. Susan B. Sipe. 
fNo. 27. Prison schools. A. C. Hill. 

*No. 28. Expressions on education by American statesmen and publicists. 5 cts. 
*No. 29. Accredited secondary schools in the United States. Kendric C. Babcock. 10 cts. 
*No. 30. Education in the South. 10 cts. 
*No. 31. Special features in city school systems. 10 cts. 

No. 32. Educational survey of Montgomery County, Md. 

tNo. 33. Monthly record of current educational publications, September, 1913. 
*No. 34. Pension systems in Great Britain. Raymond W. Sies. 10 cts. 
*No. 35. A list of books suited to a high-school library. 15 cts. 
*No. 36. Report on the work of the Bureau of Education for the natives of Alaska, 1911-12. 10 cts. 

No. 37. Monthly record of current educational publications, October, 1913. 
*No. 38. Economy of time in education. 10 cts. 

No. 39. Elementary industrial school of Cleveland, Ohio. W. N. Hailmann. 
*No. 40. The reorganized school playground. Henry S. Curtis. 10 cts. 

No. 41. The reorganization of secondary education. 

No. 42. An experimental rural school at Winthrop College. H. S. Browne. 
*No. 43. Agriculture and rural-life day; material for its observance. Eugene C. Brooks. 10 cts. 
*No. 44. Organized health work in schools. E. B. Hoag. 10 cts. 

No. 45. Monthly record of current educational publications, November, 1913. 
*No. 46. Educational directory, 1913. 15 cts. 

*No. 47. Teaching material in Government publications. F. K. Noyes. 10 cts. 
*No. 48. School hygiene. W. Carson Ryan, jr. 15 cts. 

No. 49. The Farragut School, a Tennessee country-life high school. A. C. Monahan and Adams Phillips. 

No. 50. The Fitchburg plan of cooperative industrial education. M. R. MeCann. 
*No. 51. Education of the immigrant. 10 cts. 
*No. 52. Sanitary schoolhouses. Legal requirements in Indiana and Ohio. 5 cts. 

No. 53. Monthly record of current educational publications, December, 1913. 

No. 54. Consular reports on industrial education in Germany. 

No. 55. Legislation and judicial decisions relating to education, October 1, 1909, lo October 1, 1912. James 

C. Boykin and William R. Hood. 
tNo. 56. Some suggestive features of the Swiss school system. William Knox Tate. 

No. 57. Elementary education in England, with special reference to London, Liverpool, and Manchester. 
I. L. Kandel. 

No. 58. Educational system of rural Denmark. Harold W. Foght. 

No. 59. Bibliography of education for 1910-11. 

No. 60. Statistics of State universities and other institutions of higher education partially supported by 
the State, 1912-13. 

1914. 

*No. 1. Monthly record of current educational publications, January, 1914. 5 cts. 

No. 2. Compulsory school attendance. 

No. 3. Monthly record of current educational publications, February, 1914. 
No. 4. The school and the start in life. Meyer Bloomfield. 



IV • BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 

No. 5. The folk high schools of Denmark. L. I.. Friend. 
No. 0. Kindergartens in the United States. 

No. 7. Monthly record of current educational publications, March, 1914. 

No. 8. The Massachusetts home-project plan of vocational agricultural education. T!. W. Stimson. 
No. 9. Monthly record of current educational publications, April, 1914. 
*No. 10. Physical growth and school progress. B. T. Baldwin. 25 cts. 
No. 11. Monthly record of current educational publications, May, 1914. 
No. 12. Rural schoolhouses and grounds. F. B. Dresslar. 
No. 13. Present status of drawing and art in the elementary and secondary schools of the United States. 

Royal B. Farnum. 
No. 14. Vocational guidance. 

No. 15. Monthly record of current educational publications. Index. 
No. 16. The tangible rewards of teaching. James C. Boykin and Roberta King. 
No. 17. Sanitary survey of the schools of Orange County, Va. Roy K. Flannagan. 
No. 18. The public school system of Gary, Ind. William P. Burris. 
No. 19. University extension in the United States. Louis E. Reber. 
No. 20. The rural school and hookworm disaese. J. A. Ferrell. 
No. 21. Monthly record of current educational publications, September, 1914. 
No. 22. The Danish folk high schools. H. W. Foght. 
No. 23. Some trade schools in Europe. Frank L. Glynn. 
No. 24. Danish elementary rural schools. H. W. Foght. 
No. 25. Important features in rural school improvement. W. T. Hodges. 
No. 26. Monthly record of current educational publications, October, 1914. 
No. 27. Agricultural teaching. 

No. 28. The Montessori method and the kindergarten. Elizabeth Harrison. 
No. 29. The kindergarten in benevolent institutions. 
No. 30. Consolidation of rural schools and transportation of pupils at public expense. A. C. Monahatu 



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